No Hope
by sophers
Summary: There is a new member in the Volturi coven! But... who? Takes place during Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and way farther after. Please read! I worked very hard on this! It's my first story!
1. A New Member

**Disclaimer: Most characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I give her full credit, and I will take none.**

**Warning: My chapters are extremely long, so if you don't have time to read this, please, read it another time.**

The pain was finally over. It had finally stopped, but I couldn't remember anything.

"Get up," A calm, husky voice commanded.

I wasn't sure that I was strong enough to get up, but to my surprise, I was stronger than I had ever thought possible.

When I finally managed to open my eyes, an unfamiliar face greeted me. He had brilliant features: a perfectly shaped jaw, mouth, and nose.

He was huge.

I was in a room that was perfectly round like a huge castle turret. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs; and in the center of the circle, in a slight depression, was a drain. (NM)

I had a hard time getting over my amazement. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him: Who was he? Who was_ I_? What had just happened? Where were we? What was this place?

I had many more questions, questions that I forgot as soon as I thought about asking them.

"Splendid!" A different voice chimed. I turned around to see a man with a long wool cloak gliding towards me. His movement was astonishing, and graceful, but his skin was so pale, it was almost translucent.

The most amazing thing about both of them were their eyes; they had red eyes. I'd never met anyone with red eyes before.

"How are you, my dear?" The man stopped gliding and was standing in front of me.

I didn't know what to say, I just stared at him like a complete idiot.

"Please, do not be afraid," He took a step closer to me. I was not afraid, I was just confused.

"Who are you?" My voice was shockingly beautiful. It almost sounded like the gentle flow of the man's.

"My name is Aro, and this is Felix," He gestured to the other male. I hadn't forgotten about him.

Felix nodded. "Would you like a tour-,"

"Not now, Felix," Aro interrupted him.

"Come," Aro put his arm around my shoulder and led me out of the circle.

We had to duck to get through a small door that led into a long hallway.

Aro kept his arm around me as he led me into a lobby. Elevator music played from hidden speakers, and a woman stood behind a polished mahogany counter.

"Find her something suitable to wear," Aro told someone, but I couldn't see who. I knew that he wasn't talking to the woman behind the counter because she didn't even look up to acknowledge his existence.

Then, stepping out from the shadows, a stunning woman appeared just as had Aro flew away. She had long mahogany hair, and a cloak that was similar to Aro's; and even with the cloak, anyone could have known that she had a great body. I was instantly envious.

The beautiful woman gestured with her hand for me to follow behind her as she walked away. And, also like Aro, she had a graceful walk, but she didn't walk quite as slow as Aro did. Her walk was hastier, faster, but I had no trouble keeping up.

Another question arose, I shrugged it off, assuming it they would be answered sooner or later.

The woman led me down the same hallway that Aro and I had come through, but she stopped in front of a white door.

She opened the door and pushed me through.

"So this is the famous Amelia," The woman muttered to herself. I glowered at her; she was obviously talking about me.

"Here," She threw a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a cloak at me.

"Put that on," She commanded; I balked.

"Do you need a place to change?" She chuckled, but I didn't know how it could have been funny.

"OK, we'll make it a game," She started to laugh. "Try to put your clothes on as fast as you can."

I was starting to really dislike her.

I began to undress myself, but before my mind could even register what I had just done, I was already dressed.

"Congratulations! You win… nothing!" She was cracking up, but I still didn't find anything that she said funny.

A low growl escaped my lips, but I hadn't planned on _growling_. She would definitely find that even more amusing.

But, to my amazement, she stopped laughing.

"Wonderful!" I heard Aro's familiar voice again.

"You look so much better!" Aro chimed once again; I became embarrassed. Had I looked bad before?

"Come, follow me," Aro spoke, and then fled out of the room.

I peeked over my shoulder at the woman right before I walked out the door. She was smiling, and probably about to burst into laughter once more.

Aro wasn't the only one walking with me. Felix walked behind me. (I didn't know why, but I got a terrible vibe off Felix.)

Just as Aro ducked through the small door, and just before I was about to, Felix slid a small piece of paper into my hand, and confirmed my suspicions. I glared back at him, but stuck the paper in my pocket.

He smiled a wide, impish grin. "Don't be mad, my dear _bambina_,"

I had no idea what he had just said, but I had a feeling that it wasn't just a friendly expression.

I rolled my eyes and continued through the small door. I was back in the circle, but there were more people inside it this time.

Two of them, looked similar to Aro. Their translucent skin and red eyes were the same. The only difference was their hair; one had hair like Aro's, and the other one had hair the color of snow.

The snobby woman was there, but there were many others that I did not recognize.

"Welcome, friends!" Aro said with much enthusiasm.

"Amelia, please, come." Aro put his hand on my back and steered me around the circular room, introducing me to everyone. I nodded my head in greeting when necessary. I also learned that the snobby girl's name was Heidi.

The two elder's, who looked like Aro, names were Caius and Marcus. They seemed bored, I took it as an insult.

There were two twins, whose names were Jane and Alec. They were delighted to meet me, which made me feel welcome.

A man that stood next to Felix name was Demetri. He was delightfully contrite, which made me feel welcome also.

But there was still one problem. I didn't know where I was, or how I'd got here. And, I wanted to know why everyone here acted so… different. Plus, why did we have to wear a huge wool cloaks? What was the purpose behind them?

"Welcome, to Volterra, Italy!" Aro spoke directly to me. I purposely gave him a confused look. Hopefully, he wouldn't miss it.

"Do you know why you are here, Amelia?" It was Caius who spoke next.

I replied honestly. "No, I do not."

"You are here because of what you have become," Marcus began. "You are a vampire, a creature damned to an eternal life of night. You have been chosen to become one of us, you have potential."

Demetri handed me a mirror, and I was shocked by my reflection. My hair was now a brilliant dirty blond, almost a chocolate brown. My eyes were no longer blue, they were red. (Just like everyone else that was here.) And my face was now perfectly shaped. I didn't have acne anymore, either.

But, the thing that changed the most was my teeth. They were no longer normal. They were razor-sharp.

"So you see, you can never go into the sun, at least not where any human can see you. Nor can you share your secret with a human." Alec continued the lecture.

"You now have super-human abilities. You are strong, fast, and intelligent. And, some of us even have a special power, if you will." Demetri kept it going, in an overly dramatic tone.

"But, you have to learn to control you hunger-or rather thirst. Yes, you now drink blood, blood and only blood." Jane sounded like a child, and she looked like one too. It was amazing how she could be so serious.

"But more importantly, you are one of us now, you are one of the Volturi," Caius started again. "You have an enormous responsibility now; you must help us keep humans from ever finding out that vampires exist."

"We correct the mistakes made by other vampires that might reveal us. We are usually referred to as a royal family, and we are only feared by those who have done something wrong." Marcus said. It seemed like they were speaking in a pattern, only Felix hadn't said anything.

"We can not be killed easily, but we do have a theory; you must tear one to shreds, and burn the pieces." Alec spoke next. Yes, they were definitely speaking in a pattern.

"Put your hand over your heart, Amelia," I followed Demetri's command.

I had no heartbeat. Where was it? Was I dead? This couldn't be happening!

If I had been human, I would have probably gone into shock by now.

"I don't have a heartbeat," I replied in an almost inaudible voice.

"You no longer need your heart to beat." Demetri explained. "You don't even need to breathe."

"Your skin is cold, and hard, like marble. You are almost indestructible, depending on who you are, and your abilities." Jane said in the same childish monotone.

"Most vampires are physically attractive to their prey. When you become a vampire, everything about you is enhanced." Caius disrupted the pattern.

"I predict that you do have an ability. My theory is that you can change how you are; physically and mentally. A shape-shifter perhaps," Aro said in a high excited voice. "It's absolutely delightful! Amelia, try changing right now! Attempt to, please!"

I doubted that I could change shape. Why did he want me to try out an ability that I _might_ have, when I just became a vampire? It made no logical sense at all.

"I don't think I can," I said doubtfully.

"Now, now, my sweet _bambina_, why won't you at least try," Felix ushered.

Heidi finally broke through her bitter mask, and cracked a smile at Felix's remark.

Now I knew that it was something more than just a friendly expression, it was a sign of affection. I almost gagged.

Felix reached up to caress my face with the tips of his fingers, but, once again, a fierce growl escaped my lips; I bared my teeth.

"Amelia, Felix!" Caius snapped his teeth with great force. His voice was loud and threatening.

"Bow!" Caius commanded.

Felix slapped down to the floor, but I stood my ground. I was not going to be pushed around by a grandpa.

"Bow!" Caius commanded again, but I still didn't bow.

Caius was in front of me before I ever saw him coming.

"Caius, my dear brother, she has not be educated on the laws yet; contain yourself!" Aro said in a slightly louder voice than usual.

"She still needs to learn respect. I trust you will teach her some," Caius scoffed, and was back where he had been a second ago in the same amount of time it had taken him to be inches from my face.

"Come, Amelia. We will discuss this matter elsewhere," Aro put his hand on my back again and led me out of the room. Jane, Alec, Demetri, and Marcus followed. I assumed that Caius was staying with Felix, to lecture him, I hoped.

Aro led us into a smaller room. Couches sat against the wall, and a chandelier hung from the ceiling. A glorious carpet was situated in the middle of the room.

Everyone sat down, and Alec motioned for me to sit by him and Jane. I happily sat down. It was better than being in a room with Felix.

"Are you thirsty?" Aro asked.

"I guess, but I haven't really smelt blood before, at least I can't remember if I have; and, speaking of which, how come all I remember of my human life is the searing pain of my transformation?" I asked another one of my many questions.

"No one knows for sure, but when you are bitten, if that vampire resists the temptation of sucking you dry, the venom spreads throughout your body; into every vein, capillary, vessel, and artery. When it reaches your heart, it stops beating; that is when the transformation is complete. It takes about three days for this to happen." Demetri, for I now knew, was the source of information.

"But you still didn't answer my question; do you suffer from severe memory loss, because of the venom?" I questioned him again.

"Possibly," I could tell he had never thought of that possibility before, and he was considering my theory. I grinned.

"Well, Amelia, let's start out with telling you what Caius demands us to explain to you," Jane started with a more playful, childish tone. "Aro, Caius, and Marcus are our leaders; if you want to refer to them, you call them, 'Masters', or, 'Master'," She looked questioningly at Aro- he nodded.

"You must obey them, you must show them respect." Jane continued a little more seriously. "And, if you chose to disobey them, you will suffer the consequences."

I nodded in understanding. I now had higher ups that I took orders from, but surely it couldn't be as bad as it sounded.

"Glorious! Jane, dear one, you are improving!" Aro exclaimed in his usual way.

I decided to ask more questions when I had the chance. "What about the so-called "abilities" that vampires can have? I want to know more about them, and do any of you have them?"

"Oh, yes, some of us have abilities. Jane can cause someone pain, by torture. I can see all of your past memories and all of your present thoughts with physical contact. Marcus can see relationships, and, well, some of the others' abilities are confidential." Aro started to be serious, which in his case, was rare.

"I see, and just one more thing, are there others like you, of the Volturi, that I haven't met yet?" I asked one of the few questions I had left to ask.

"Yes, but you will meet them in time," Aro answered happily. "In time, my dear." Did Aro refer to every girl with the phrases 'my dear', or, 'dear one'; or did he just refer to Jane as the 'dear one' because he had to be nice to her or else she would torture him?

I shrugged off the mindless questions I had left mostly because they were unimportant.

"Now, you are free to do as you wish, as long as it does not include breaking our rules. Do not wander far." Aro warned, and with that, he and Marcus glided away.

Then, I remembered the "letter" that Felix had "sent" me. I decided, that even with Jane, Alec, and Demetri hovering over me, I would be able to read it.

My hand slipped into my pocket and pulled out the small piece of paper.

Would you like a tour of Volterra?

I wasn't expecting such a simple question. Maybe Felix was a little more romantic than I gave him credit for. Maybe he wasn't just a pervert.

"What is that?" Jane asked leaning across Alec's lap.

I handed her the note.

"It's a note," I replied, careful not to give to many details.

"Who gave it to you?" Jane asked. Obviously, she wasn't going to give up that easily.

Her eyes scanned the note in a blink of an eye. She handed it back to me.

"Felix," I sighed in resignation.

"Felix?" Jane asked; I read the shock on her face.

"Yes."

"Just ignore him. He's rude and insulting. Don't let him seduce you like that." Jane warned.

I nodded. I'd been completely wrong about Felix's motives.

Demetri exited with Alec while Jane and I continued our conversation.

I changed the subject. "Your power is fascinating," I complimented Jane. Sucking up to her would be a great way to earn her respect.

Jane smiled. "Thank you,"

I expected her to compliment me, or to wish me good luck on finding out what kind of extra ability that I _might_ have, but it seemed like vampires were extremely different from humans because Jane just kept on smiling.

"Come, let's go outside and celebrate with the humans," Jane's smile turned into a devilish grin.

"Celebrate what?" I asked.

"It's Saint Marcus Day."

"Oh,"

"Come," Jane grabbed my hand and skipped along until we came to the familiar hallway that I'd come to recognize.

She stopped in front of a white door that was similar to the door the other doors. It opened up to an enormous room. A pale leather couch sat against one wall. And a dresser sat against another. (A mirror stood next to it.) The walls were a pinkish-maroon, with white paneling. A gigantic chandelier hung on the ceiling. Jane's room was extremely feminine.

"Let's find something… alluring to wear." Jane said as she shuffled through the drawers of her dresser.

She handed me a black dress thatwasn't that alluring; it was almost club-like. But, yet, it had a certain essence.

Jane was already dressed in a red cocktail dress; it clung to her frame nicely.

I slipped into my dress, and was shocked. I had never remembered looking so… good. I smiled in spite of myself.

"We don't need to look too fancy, our hair is fine. Let's go." Jane looked like an extremely young woman, she might attract younger prey.

I glanced at my reflection, and at my hair that was in a pony-tail, as we made our way to the event.

It was dark out, and many people roamed the alleyways. The gigantic buildings towered over the city that was enclosed by enormous walls.

It was there that I got my first whiff of human blood. It was harder than I thought it would be to contain myself. I felt ravenous, and strange. I'd never once before felt the need to drink human blood, but now I was craving it.

Jane noticed. "I know it's hard, but just try. Aro would be very disappointed in you," That helped. I wouldn't want Aro to think that I was incompetent.

A few teenagers passed by us and wolf whistled. Jane smiled, and started to strut. I took to things differently; I was a little more shy.

"Oh! Jane, dear one! It's so nice to see you again!" A man, no, a vampire ran up to Jane, and hugged her.

"Antonio, how have you been?" Jane squealed.

"I've been having the time of –,"

"Jane!" Another vampire rushed towards Jane. She squeezed her hard.

"I've missed you so much!"

"Allegra," Jane replied in her childish voice. Then, Allegra released her and began to eye me suspiciously.

Thankfully, Jane noticed. "Friends, this is Amelia,"

"Amelia," Antonio took my hand and kissed in lightly. I was flattered.

"Oh, this is absolutely delightful! It's such a privilege to be in the presence of two powerful vampires," When Allegra spoke her last words, she said them quietly, so that she didn't reveal us.

"Are you hunting, because we'd love to join you?" Allegra asked.

Jane nodded and whispered something in her ear, and even with my advanced senses, I couldn't hear her.

Jane started to strut again, with Antonio, Allegra, and I following close behind her. I didn't feel quite as awkward when I stood next to Allegra; she was almost just as tall as me. Jane was too small to feel confident around. I felt like I was a giant when I was around her.

We kept walking until we came to a large, open place that had a fountain in the center of it. A huge clock tower towered high above it, giving off an ancient vibe. Red paper lanterns were strung along the sides of buildings. People gathered here and conversed.

I was growing more and more ravenous.

Allegra put one had on my shoulder. "Hold your breath, it helps."

I did what she told me to do. It did help, but it was a little frustrating not being able to breathe.

"Go, go find yourself some dinner," Antonio whispered in my ear- I gladly complied.

I walked off and tried to be attractive. It wasn't that hard. I practically had a crowd of lovesick puppies following me in no time.

Maybe I could lure them into a dark alleyway, and flirt. Or, I could just take them back to the hotel, and ask Aro what I was supposed to do with them.

Every time a human past me, it got even harder to resist the temptation. A hot fire was burning in my throat. I just had to quench my thirst, I _had_ to.

I started to walk down a deserted alleyway, some of them ditched me, but a few kept following me.

When I got near the end of it, I stopped and leaned against one of the stone buildings. I heard their playful laughter echoing against the walls.

I turned around swiftly, and ran up to one of them. I ran my fingers through his dark hair… then down to his collarbone, inhaling.

I appeared suddenly in front of the other man and repeated what I had just done to the first one, except, this time, I sank my teeth into his flesh.

Time wasn't on my side so I had only seconds to enjoy the sweet, succulent taste of his blood before I had to murder the other one.

He had only a second to make out a small shriek before I took his soul. I sucked, and devoured all of his blood that I could; drinking every last drop before I sucked the other man dry aswell.

I felt enraged, wild, and free. I could feel the droplets of blood on my teeth infused with my venom.

I wiped the blood from my mouth with my arm and raced back to the hotel; all the while contemplating my next feeding.


	2. Punishment

**Disclaimer: Most characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I give her full credit, and I will take none.**

As I began to make my way back to the hotel, Jane stopped me. She had a glazed look.

I grimaced. I'd obviously done something wrong, but hopefully, they'd forgive me. It was impossible to resist the blood. It was, indeed, extremely impossible.

"What have you done?" She hissed in my ear. Antonio and Allegra glared at me disapprovingly. I glared back at Antonio; I'd assumed that it was okay to hunt like that. He had told me to.

But, right now wasn't the time to make excuses, even if they were good ones. "I am ashamed."

"You should be!" Jane glanced over at Allegra. She nodded. It seemed like they were communicating; communicating in a way that I couldn't decode.

Jane groaned and started to pull me by the arm. She walked swiftly, and I followed a little less gracefully. It's not that easy to walk when an infuriated teenager was pulling you by the arm.

Despite her young appearance, Jane obviously had more experience than I did. But, it felt odd being pushed around by her. What was I to her? What was my purpose? Aro had failed to share that important piece of information. Now, I was like a slave, following her every command.

It was almost dawn now, and Jane and I didn't have our cloaks. Jane kept dragging me, and it was slowing us down. I wasn't planning on running away, so why was she keeping such a firm grasp on me?

"Can't we just run back? No one will notice." I said.

Jane stopped. "Alright, but you can not escape me. So, don't even try to hide."

This was my first time to run. I wasn't surprised by my speed, but was surprised by the effect it had on my personality. I felt high, exhilarated. And, it wasn't long before we reached the hotel.

"Jane," The woman that was always behind the counter said.

"Gianna," Jane replied. I was confused. Gianna looked like a normal human. How could she be at ease with us standing around?

Allegra and Antonio we standing in the ornate hallway. Jane nodded at them, and continued to drag me to the castle turret.

"Master, she has gotten herself into trouble again," Jane complained once we were inside.

"How so?" Marcus questioned.

"You haven't noticed yet? You didn't hear the faint scream of the few men she had for dinner?" Jane said, with attitude, as she glared humorlessly at me.

Aro glided forward, his hand outstretched. "May I?" He looked deep into my eyes, probably searching for my answer before I had a chance to speak it.

"I don't mind," I put forward my hand, and watched for his response.

He smiled, at first, but then his expression changed into horror.

He let go and glided over to Demetri who was leaning against the wall.

"Retrieve the bodies," He spoke in a quiet tone; I barely made out his words.

"I now realize that I neglected to share one of the most important rules with you, Amelia, but…" His eyes were filled with sorrow. "But, it must be done. I'm dreadfully sorry about this." He whispered something in Jane's ear, and she turned to face me. A beatific smile spread across her face.

Suddenly, the world around me meant nothing, and I was surrounded by searing pain. It wasn't as bad as my transformation, but it certainly could compare.

I let out a loud howl of pain. There were weights coming down on my head, and I crumpled to the ground. A thousand knifes were being shoved into my skull. It felt like blood was rushing from my dead body. I felt like I was being tortured. I felt like I was in a living hell; being burnt to death.

And then, it was over.

"She's so stubborn," Caius shook his head as I sprang lightly to my feet.

"Amelia, please, you must understand that we enforce our rules very strictly," Marcus begged.

"No more hunting trips for you until you learn to obey us," Caius warned.

I couldn't imagine the thought of not be able to hunt. It was all I wanted in this new life. I wanted the blood.

Aro looked sadly over to me. "Amelia, Jane and Alec had little trouble with their listening skills, but you… I thought you knew better than that," He lowered his head disapprovingly.

Jane was still smiling.

I stared at her- eyes narrow.

I had to get out of this room. Maybe there was a piano some where. I might have taken piano lessons in the past, and, it couldn't be that hard. Plus, I had nothing else to do. It was useless to even try to be happy anymore.

"May I be excused?" I asked.

"Do not go outside, and Jane, dear one, keep an eye on her." Marcus's face showed no expression as he screwed up my new life even more.

I was now wallowing in pain. I was a disgrace. I had to be watched carefully because of it.

I slid out the doorway- Jane followed.

"Do you happen to have a piano?" I turned to face Jane when we were out of the circle.

"Yes, but do you know how to play?"

"I'm not for sure, but I'd like to try,"

Jane nodded, and started to walk away- I followed.

"There it is," She stopped outside of an archway that led into a small room. In the center of it, was a beautiful piano.

"It's beautiful," I sighed, and quickly sat down.

I pressed one key, and an enchanting sound filled the room.

I continued to play songs that I remembered, and songs that I composed myself.

"Enchanting," Felix walked in and leaned against the piano. "No one has played that in years."

I put on a fake smile, and continued to play.

Felix listened for awhile. Sometimes he would hum to the songs he knew, and other times he would just stare at me.

I closed my eyes, and tried to forget about him. I let my fingers glide along the keys.

After awhile, I felt fingers slide along the side of my face. I didn't have to open my eyes to know who it was.

Felix.

I considered slapping him across the face, but I was already in enough trouble. And, Felix was twice my size. He could rip me to shreds.

So, I let him continue caressing my face. My mouth parted as I wanted to bite him. I wanted kill him.

As he started to kiss my cheek, I lost control.

My left hand left the piano keys and smacked him on the face. It felt good.

He hissed behind me, but kept I playing- trying to ignore him all together.

Thankfully, he left; and I was left to keep playing.

"You might want to change," I heard Heidi say. She dropped an outfit beside the piano.

I glanced down at it. It was a red t-shirt, and a pair of faded denim jeans. There was a pair of tennis shoes next to it.

I stopped playing and quickly changed out of the black dress that I had worn the night before.

She took the dress, and left.

I sighed in contentment. At least I wasn't getting in trouble.

"Are you hungry?" Demetri walked in. "Do you want me to save a few for you?"

Had they been hunting? Did they have something to eat? No, I told myself. I wasn't good enough to enjoy anything.

I denied his invitation. Maybe I could starve myself to death. Maybe I could escape this place.

It had been a week before anyone had spoken to me, but Aro finally did. "Please, stop wallowing. It makes me sad to see you this way."

I didn't answer. I kept playing. I kept telling myself to ignore the outside world.

"Speak when you are spoken to!" Felix commanded, and grabbed my arm. He looked furious- I still didn't answer.

Felix picked me up and threw me against the wall. I hadn't expected that.

My right arm now had a huge gash where I had hit a mirror. A piece of it was stuck in my arm.

No blood was spilt from my wound. It was only painful.

It healed by itself. The shred of mirror was magically pushed out, and I no longer had a wound.

Aro gasped. "Amazing, that is absolutely fascinating! Amelia, you've found your ability!"

I looked up, shocked. I had thought that every vampire could heal themselves quickly. So, it wasn't just normal.

Aro glided over to the broken mirror and picked up a shard of glass.

He pierced his chalky skin. "Amelia, heal me!" He exclaimed.

I doubted that I could heal him, but I tried anyway.

I placed my hands over his wound, and it closed up, just as mine had done.

"Splendid! I wonder if you can bring back the dead! Oh, this is wonderful!

"Caius, Marcus, imagine how much joy she will bring! Oh, I'm so enthralled!"


	3. Practice

**Disclaimer: Most characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I give her full credit, and I will take none.**

**Notice: Most of these stories are… kind of like rough drafts. I'm sorry if I jump around too much. (I'm not a brilliant writer like Stephanie.)**

After that certain day… of finding my "ability", I was surrounded by curious eyes 24-7.

As with most powers, no one knew exactly how it worked, but Aro was convinced that, since my power worked right before his eyes, he would be able to figure out what made it work. I cut myself constantly, and he watched- always mystified. I probably cut myself 10,000 times a day. I grew miserable. My very existence was pointless. I wished that I was able to sleep.

"Aro, that really is annoying." I complained one afternoon. I'd come out of my zombie/vampire stage, and I was a little more aware. Aro, who'd become my best friend, was oddly, my worst enemy.

"But, it's so… fascinating. I must find out its secret." I stabbed myself in the arm; he watched.

I thought back to my first _day_ as a true vampire. I'd been free, and respected. It was strange that one little miscalculation ruined it all.

I stabbed myself in the arm, again.

Marcus and Caius, who stood behind Aro, watched too, but not as intently.

Felix and I had to be separated. We could not be within 50 feet of each other. That, at least, was one rule that I had no trouble with. I actually liked it.

I groaned. It had been weeks of this torture, and it was finally getting the best of me.

"Patience," Caius reminded me, but he didn't have the right to. Hello? I'd been patient for the last… um… I don't know… week!

"Oh, that reminds me," Aro said, looking away from my wounded arm. "We're having a small get together with some other vampires, and, despite your position… I might be able to arrange a spot for you. It would be fun." He smiled.

"But, Aro, don't you think she's a vulnerability?" Marcus detested.

"No, I think she's ready. And, they would probably love to see what a gift she has!"

I couldn't help but smile. I'd be able to get out of the hotel- no more claustrophobia! (Only if vampires can have claustrophobia.)

"Well, I suppose so." Marcus agreed. Caius didn't protest, so it must have been official. I was about to jump for joy.

"Amelia, Heidi and Jane are going out looking for dresses. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you came along." Aro took the knife from my hand. "Go, you need some fresh air." Caius chuckled at his remark, and I did too. I was feeling good again. My spirits rose high.

I caught Jane's scent and ran up next to her. I cocked my head to the side, pointing to Aro's chamber.

She nodded and we walked to the lobby. Heidi was there- she eyed me, as usual.

"What's _she_ doing here?" She hissed at Jane.

"She's coming with us." She said, and glared back at me. I kept smiling, hoping, that it would tick them off.

It worked, and I felt bad. Evil.

I loved their jealousy. It was plain in their eyes. They were envious and jealous. I loved it. They could hate me all they wanted to, but I wasn't going anywhere.

A snotty little laugh came out of my mouth. It was more like a giggle.

They rolled their eyes in unison.

I giggled again. My lungs were full of air, and they were ready to explode. I wanted to laugh so badly.

There was a huge grin that was spread across my face.

"Ugh." Heidi looked so annoyed, but it made me want to even laugh harder.

What was happening to me? Maybe I was being flooded with too much joy at once and it was making me insane.

"Come on, let's go," Jane said as, she too, began to eye me.

They walked out the door. I followed.

Heidi and Jane whispered back and forth. And, occasionally they would turn to look at me with disgust.

I kept smiling.

"She's too human," I heard Heidi say, just loud enough to where I could hear it.

"She's pathetic," Jane replied.

"Thank you," I said, smirking.

They gave me one last look of hatred, and kept walking.

When we reached the clothing store, I was smiling, and they were scowling.

They left me, and I was on my own.

Yes. Freedom.

I was too happy to notice the scent of human blood all around me. I just kept smiling. They must have thought that I was some kind of freak. But, I was.

I stopped in the juniors section. (I was 18; a good enough reason to shop in that area.) Even though, there weren't what you called areas.

The store was just a small family owned business in the middle of Volterra that just happened to open at midnight. Aro's hotel must be connected to the shop some how.

This was probably where they got their breakfast from.

I chuckled silently at the thought.

I browsed for awhile until I found the perfect dress. It was jet black, satin, and it dragged lightly on the ground. It was strapless- I went for simplicity.

Jane and Heidi passed when I was on my way to find shoes- they had their noses sticking up.

I smiled again. They were such a funny sight.

I found the small section for shoes, and the only pair that would look suitable with my dress was a pair of black flats. It wasn't good to have something that simple, but it was the best that I could find. And, the dress was long enough to hide my shoes.

My outfit looked promising.

I went to the counter to pay, and my suspicions were proved correct.

Antonio waited behind it.

"Going to the ball; you'll be sure to be stunning," He must have taken my smiling in the wrong way. I quickly stopped.

I put my items on the counter.

He scanned them in a blink of an eye. Luckily, no humans were around to see it.

"See you there,"

"Perve," I muttered. Why was almost every guy like that?

As I walked out the door, Antonio made a purring sound at Heidi.

I pretended to gag.

Heidi didn't hear, or at least I didn't think that she did, and started to laugh flirtatiously.

Now I really was about to gag.

"Wow, and she returns sane!" Felix exclaimed. I'd come back at the wrong time.

I ignored him and walked right past.

He caught up to me in the hallway; and, suddenly grabbed me by the waist.

He pulled me closer. "Now, now, my sweet _bambina_… don't be afraid…" He leaned in closer.

I thought about kicking him in the groin, but would it have an effect on a vampire too?

No, it couldn't hurt a vampire.

I decided upon defense mechanism number two. Heel of the hand thrust upwards at the nose; hopefully breaking it.

It had little effect. He just shook it off, and squeezed me tighter.

I had to escape, but it would have to be violent. I couldn't risk it. I was trapped.

If only I had been blessed with a different ability… like… mind reading, or extreme strength…

And then, it hit me. I could hurt him, and then heal him. No one would ever know who was telling the truth… unless… Aro used his power…

Damn it! There really was no way out!

I put my hands against his chest; I tried to push him away. "Felix," I said calmly- trying to gain control.

"Yes," He breathed dramatically.

"Yeah, um," I tried to push him away again.

He wouldn't budge, so I twisted my head away from his.

He put one hand on my face and twisted it back towards his.

I knew what was next, and there was still no escape. I began to struggle pointlessly.

He grabbed my jaw in one hand- his other still on my waist.

I kept struggling.

He leaned closer.

"Damn it, Feli-," I began to scream, but he put one hand over my mouth.

I lost control, and bit him. He deserved it.

He howled in pain as I kept sinking my teeth in deeper and deeper, until, finally, I let go.

He released me then, and was holding his hand.

Aro, Caius, and Marcus rushed down the hallway. "Amelia!" Caius shouted; furious.

"It's not what it looks like!" I ran up to Aro, my hand outstretched.

He held it, and for a long while.

Then he turned to Felix. "Felix! You have crossed the line!"

"Aro!" Marcus called.

Aro stopped in his tracks, and told Marcus and Caius everything, except, of course, Caius already knew about our strange relationship. He just didn't know about the actions Felix had taken.

"Come here, child," Aro put one arm around me and led me away. Marcus and Caius stayed behind.

I was still happy inside, and thankful that Aro's gift could be used like that. If he had not had that gift, he wouldn't have believed me.

"Of course I would have," Aro answered my thoughts.

Crap. I'd forgotten about that little detail. His arm was around me, he could read my thoughts.

"No you wouldn't have," I looked down. "You should have seen your face."

He chuckled lightly. "Was it frightening?"

_Yes. _I thought. I knew he could hear me.

"May I call you Father from now on… instead of Master?"

He chuckled again. "Not around Caius or Marcus."

I nodded.

We stopped in front of the piano room, which had become my room.

He let go of me and flew away.

I quickly sat my new clothes on a couch that sat against a wall.

I decided to enjoy the time I had alone. I knew that before long, Aro would be back, wanting me to cut myself repeatedly.

I sat down by the piano, and started to play a lullaby that I'd composed myself. I made it for my mother- whoever she was. It was how I'd imagined my mother's voice; soft and silky, like milk.

I quietly hummed to the music- it was so low, a human wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"Why don't you sing to it? Entertain me; I'm bored." Aro was behind me.

"Yes, Father." I said. I knew that Caius and Marcus weren't there, I couldn't sense their presence.

I began to sing. Luckily, I'd made lyrics as well as music.

_Amazing grace! How sweet the sound_

_That saved a wretch like me_

_I once was lost but now am found_

_Was blind but now I see_

_'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear_

_And grace my fears relieved_

_How precious did that grace appear?_

_The hour I first believed_

_Through many dangers, toils and snares_

_I have already come_

_'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far_

_And grace will lead me home…_

_...No, there's a cross for ev'ryone_

_But there's no cross for me_

But, it couldn't quite be called a lullaby, though.

"Why, that sounds similar to the lullaby, 'Amazing Grace'," Aro exclaimed.

Hmmm… could it be possible that I remembered a lullaby from my past?

"How strange," I said, thinking out loud.


	4. The Dinner

**Disclaimer: Most characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I give her full credit, and I will take none.**

**Notice: Most of these stories are… kind of like rough drafts. I'm sorry if I jump around too much. (I'm not a brilliant writer like Stephanie.)**

The stupid lullaby was unimportant. The important thing was my true family- my human mother and father. Who were they? Were they alive, and in the city? Did I have any siblings?

But, every time I asked Aro about them, he wouldn't say anything.

It became extremely frustrating.

In turn, I started to come up with all kinds of possibilities- of why he wouldn't tell me. Some of them didn't even qualify as theories; they weren't sane.

"Aro, you're acting completely unreasonable!" I vented one Friday afternoon.

He stayed silent.

I sighed. Now, it was completely hopeless- at least until the ball. Others might know about me and my history; because if Aro did, everyone did.

I went to the mirror and started to fix my hair. I

It was in a loose pony-tail, as always, but I curled it on the ends. That way, it looked a little more formal.

I slid right into the dress- pinching it in places, when I had it on, just to add a finishing touch.

It took no more than two seconds to put my plain flats on.

Next, I did my make-up. I put on as little as possible. I put on eyeliner, but no mascara. My eyelashes were black and beautiful already.

Then, I added a light, light touch of creamy pink lipstick. It only enhanced my lip color since I put so little on.

Now, it was only a matter of time. Everyone waited until dark.

"It's time. Come, Amelia. I am to be your escort." Felix came into my so called "room".

I shivered.

"I know the rules, my sweet, _bambina_," He chuckle half-heartedly.

I slowly got up.

He held out his elbow.

I, unwillingly, took it.

"Why, don't you look… enticing." He took his time, scanning my body.

I shivered again. How could Aro trust him like this?

We made our way to Aro's chamber; we were to be briefed on our expected behavior.

"The hunting party will leave a few minutes before the dinner," Caius spoke slowly. The way he'd said "dinner" made me dizzy. I was no longer longing for blood, and now, I felt guilty about taking human life. How was this "dinner" going to be arranged? Would they have their heads on plates? Or would they have them with apples in their mouths? It made me sick. "Felix, Demetri, and Heidi will be hunting. Gather up a few tourists this time; perhaps ones that have lost their way at night." He grinned. Caius was probably feeling a little mischievous.

"No fighting. This is a formal event. Please, be considerate of our guests." Marcus spoke. "Felix, Amelia, we are expecting _great_ behavior. We wish to prove the rumors wrong."

I nodded. Hmmm… there were rumors going around. And even in the vampire world.

Then, there was a clamor a voices coming from behind us.

"Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!" Aro chimed. He waved for us to follow as we went to great them.

Well, we didn't actually get to great them; Aro led everyone into a gorgeous patio. Dim lights were held on the posts. Tables and chairs were spread out evenly. And beautiful palm trees hung over it. There wasn't a great view though. It was blocked by the rest of the tall hotel surrounding it.

There was a single pool situated at the far end of it too, which I would find amusing. The others wouldn't, but like Heidi had said, 'She's too human'.

I was proud of it too.

"Now, please make yourselves at home."

I tried to go towards the pool.

But, Felix was still "escorting" me, even though I'd already been "escorted".

"Stay, we need to talk. Try not to get too excited." He scanned me again. Then, swiftly, he touched my face with the tips of his fingers. I felt it, but Aro didn't see it.

Great, he's getting clever.

Felix dropped his arm and grabbed my hand. He pulled me to the middle of the patio.

Music began to play. It was rapid, like salsa, but it was elegant.

Tango?

He put his hand around my waist, and started to dance; I automatically danced along, but only because Aro had said not to fight.

More vampires started to dance as well. I searched frantically for Aro.

Then I saw him. He was standing next to Caius and Marcus. They watched Felix intently.

I shot him a help-me look.

Aro looked behind me.

When Felix turned I followed, so I was able to look.

There were five vampires. One female and four males- one of the males was looking at me.

He looked away when our eyes connected. I imagined him blushing.

Dang it, that guy was shy, he wouldn't step up to Felix… but he was cute. He had golden eyes, and untidy dark brown hair. His face was even more perfect than Felix's or Demetri's, according to me. It was less matured, like he was my age.

And, he wasn't enormous. He was _perfect_.

I smiled at him when he looked up- he smiled a beautiful crooked smile.

I almost collapsed.

Aro must have known my type, or, he was just helping me find a way out of Felix's arms.

Felix thought that I was smiling at him.

Good job Amelia, now you've done it.

"I'm glad to see that you are cheering up." Felix smiled, and the first song ended.

I glanced back at the perfect boy. He was whispering in another boy's ear.

The other one whispered back something.

The boy now looked furious.

And now, all five of them were glaring at Felix.

"Yeah, that was… nice." I lied. "But-," I looked into Felix's eyes. They burned with a passion- a passion to what?

Then, it all happened too fast.

Felix grabbed me, he practically crushed me, and then his lips crushed mine.

His mouth parted, and I squirmed.

None of the other vampires paid attention to us, except the ones I knew.

There were other vampires kissing too, so we didn't stand out.

It was Aro that caught my attention. He was glaring at Felix.

I decided to kiss Felix back, for Aro's sake. He was dying. The party hadn't gone the way he'd planned it. And I wouldn't let Felix's lust ruin it.

I pushed back at Felix with my lips, not opening them, but matching his power.

I stopped, and twisted my head away, but he just kissed my neck. "You're a good kisser," He complimented.

I gagged. I wished that I could throw up.

I grabbed his arms then, and pushed him off. I could make a scene, it would probably be acceptable.

"Ugh!" I slapped him.

Then I stomped over to a chair and sat down.

A chorus of female laughter rang through out the room. Even some men were laughing.

I smiled. He'd got what he'd deserved.

Aro came and sat next to me. "Well done. I'll take him from here. And, I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have trusted him so much."

I nodded and he walked away.

I smiled and sighed. My head rested on my arms, and I closed my eyes and rocked back and forth as I heard Felix's enormous growls.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

It was the perfect boy. "Hello, miss." He grabbed my hand and kissed it. (Less pervertedly as Antonio had done before.) "My name is Damien, and, despite your horrible experience, would you like to dance?"

Before I could answer, another boy came up. He was older. "Geez, Damien! Let her have some time to recover!"

"Ugh, Xavier." Damien replied. "Don't make me make you kiss… her." He pointed to Jane.

Xavier frowned.

"Whatever Damien, you wouldn't dare, not here." And yet another boy came up. "Excuse me, who ever you are, but please ignore our little brother. He doesn't know what he's doing." He talked directly to me.

"I'm fine, but let me do something first, Damien." I smiled at him and got up.

I ran and jumped into the pool. "Cannon- ball!" I shouted as I jumped. I did a cannon-ball mainly because Heidi was standing by the pool. I hoped to get her wet, her and her red designer dress.

_Score! _I thought when I came above the water. Heidi was drenched, and she glared at me like she was the devil's child. (Which she was.)

I climbed out, and began to dance around the patio- smiling.

"Whoa, she's crazy. Good luck, Damien." One of Damien's friends walked away.

"Nice pick." Xavier complimented. "Just don't let her get too wild." Xavier walked away too.

I danced up to Damien. "Do you still want to dance? Even with a girl like me?"

"Of course he does," A woman pushed Damien at me. "Go do something besides boring yourself." She giggled.

He held out his hand.

"No," I shook my head smiling. "Follow me."

He raised his eyebrows.

I danced away as I kept twirling.

Slowly, Damien started to dance along. He shot a glance at the girl, and she walked away.

Then, the music changed to a pop beat.

She came back.

I smiled at Damien- and he smiled back.

Then, _I _grabbed his hand and we twirled together.

The girl pulled a different guy along with her. He pretended to resist, probably because he was embarrassed.

The music changed.

Jane came into my view. She'd obviously done it to ruin my fun.

The music was now slow R&B.

Damien and I just stood there watching the girl and her boyfriend, I assumed, dance until Damien quickly let go of my hand and looked down.

"Excuse me, Amelia. I don't mean to interrupt, but I want to introduce you to everyone." Aro looked at my wet appearance. "Or, maybe not, but it's up to you."

I shook my head.

"You won't see Felix ever again either. He has disobeyed me for the last time." He whispered in my ear.

"Yes!" I thought out loud.

"Amelia, I know that you dislike him with the passion to kill, but this is not a laughing matter. His loss will devastate our family." He continued to speak quietly.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"It's not your fault." He whispered back for the last time.

"Damien, my dear boy, how have you been?"

"I've been… wonderful." He bowed.

"No, he's a little liar! He mopes around all the time; it's pretty pathetic." It seemed like Xavier or this boy interrupted every conversation Damien had.

"Well, isn't it Dominic. You seem just as wonderful!" Aro winked at Damien.

Damien smiled.

"Oh no you don't!" Dominic bent over and gave Damien a noogie.

"Boys, Boys! Calm down, because I want you to meet Amelia, but I assume that you've already met. And, you wouldn't believe what a gift see has!"

"Healing powers, huh?" Dominic guessed correctly.

"Exactly!" Aro turned to me. "Amelia, why don't you show them?"

"Um…" Great- more repeated stabbing and healing.

Suddenly, Dominic ripped into Damien's shoulder.

Damien howled and hissed.

The crowd turned to watch the action- Aro waved them off.

"Here you go." Dominic pushed Damien over to me.

I took Damien's black formal jacket off. There was _blood_ on his shoulder.

I stopped and stared.

"What?"

"You're… _bleeding_…" I said, still staring.

"So? I've been hunting lately."

"Oh," I still didn't understand, but I went on with my work.

"It is still so fascinating." Aro said once Damien had been healed.

"Oh, and Amelia, I ought to tell you more about these two brothers." Aro's hand gestured to the now fighting Damien and Dominic. "They are biological brothers. Young Damien can create illusions- make things seem different than they really are. Dominic can predict outcomes, not see the future. The events have to unfold before his eyes.

"Damien loves to use his power on Dominic because it confuses him. It's a hilarious sight.

"They both would have great potential if they would just grow up.

"Xavier, has quite a story to tell… about your… well… your mother. So, if you truly want to know about your family…" Aro used caution as he spoke.

I was starting to jump up and down. Xavier knew about my mother?

I scanned the crowd, and I finally found him talking to the boy and the girl that had danced with Damien and I.

"How old is Xavier?" I asked Damien since he had stopped fighting with Dominic.

"35, He answered. "Why?"

"How old are you?" I ignored him.

"19," He sighed.

"How old are you?" I asked Dominic.

"26,"

"Then… how can you be related?" I needed to know their ages because if Xavier was possibly related to me, then it would be VERY wrong for Damien and I to see each other.

"No, but Dominic and I are. Xavier just acts like he is." Damien answered again.

"Can I talk to him?"

"NO!" Dominic and Damien yelled.

"¿Por qué?" I threw some Spanish at them.

"Porque…¡no comprendo!" Damien spoke to me in Spanish.

"¡No me digas!" I smiled.

"What ever-o!" Dominic joked.

"¿De dónde eres?" I asked Damien.

"¿Cual?" Damien answered.

I sighed in frustration.

"¿Algo más?"

"No," I sighed in defeat this time.

Instead of arguing on, I started over to Xavier.

"¿Qué estás hacienda?" He caught up with me.

"That's enough with the Spanish, OK?" I complained.

"Excuse me, but I need to talk to you." I tapped Xavier on the shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Do you know anything about my fam-," Damien covered my mouth.


	5. My Family

"Damien, it's about time she knew. Release her." Xavier commanded.

"Come with me," Xavier put his hand on my back and led me toward an empty table. I started to wonder what triggered this serious side of him.

"Amelia, do you know who I am?" He asked me once we'd sat down.

Damien and Dominic watched from across the room with curious eyes.

"No, not really." I finally answered.

"I'm your father." He said slowly.

"No way… really?" I squealed.

He nodded.

I practically jumped him.

I squeezed him tightly and started dry sobbing.

"Shuush," He stroked my hair gently.

After a while, I finally let go of him and sat back in my chair.

"Who was my mother?"

"Sicilia Thompson."

"Where is she? Is she her?" I started to searched the crowd.

Xavier lowered his head. "She's dead."

I stared at him. "Who… no, was she a vampire too?"

"Yes." He said quietly.

"Then how…"

He looked up. "She had you when she was 17. We were both human then, and we couldn't take care of you, so you got taken away from us."

"How did she die?" I asked. "Isn't it impossible to kill a vampire?"

"No, it's not impossible. But she asked Channel and Christina to kill her. She was miserable. She was _too_ powerful, therefore she was _too_ dangerous. Many times, she would accidentally kill others."

"Who's Channel, who's Christina?"

"Channel is over there," He gestured to the girl that Damien knew. "And Christina is in Washington." (Where ever that was.)

"What did she do, I mean, besides those other things?" I asked again.

"She lost control of herself often, Channel said that she had "anger-management issues", and she'd come way too close to revealing her secret identity.

"You're the only one I have left. I miss your mother dearly, and I've missed you so much." He hugged me.

I started dry sobbing again.

"You look just like her- still, so beautiful.

"I didn't want this horrific life for you, but it looks like I could have done nothing to stop it."

"Who cares?" I said, trying to ruin all the sappiness. "I'm just so happy to see you." I hugged him again.

Then, Xavier got up. (I was still clinging to him.) He walked over to Damien and Dominic.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to escape." Xavier chuckled; they laughed too.

"Damien, why don't you ask my daughter to dance… again."

I removed my closed eyes from Xavier's shoulder and looked into Damien's liquid-topaz eyes.

He bowed (which he bowed a lot) to Xavier and held out his hand.

I released Xavier, and took Damien's hand. I was dry enough to dance properly now.

He led me to the dance floor.

His hands wrapped around my waist, and I rested my hands on his shoulders.

"You should be proud," He said after a while.

"Why?"

"Because, you have a dad like Xavier; he's a great man- er, vampire."

I chuckled.

He smiled his beautiful smile.

I stared at him, putting the intensity of my eyes on his.

He did too.

Then, the whole world changed all around us.

We were suddenly in a magnificent meadow.

The other vampires gasped.

"Sorry," Damien muttered.

Then we were back at the hotel.

"Sometimes I let my power loose and it gets the better of me."

I chuckled again.

"It's okay." I layed my head on his shoulder, and he layed his on mine.

We danced like that for a long time until I saw Heidi and Demetri walking towards us.

I hissed, but they kept coming.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but we need you for the hunting party." Demetri explained.

I sniffed and hid my face in Damien's shoulder again.

"Amelia!" Heidi yelled.

"Just keep ignoring them," Damien whispered in my ear.

"Amelia!" Heidi yelled again.

"Why can't you go find Felix? I'm too human anyway." My voice was a little muffled, but I knew they could hear me.

"No, we need you. Aro says so." She said- frustrated.

"Too bad."

She yanked me away from Damien and pulled me towards the inside of the hotel.

Xavier held Damien back as I growled and hissed at her.

"Let me go, Heidi!" I shouted, still hissing.

"No," She smiled. "You can dance with your freakish "vegetarian" later."

"Aro!" I screamed.

Aro walked in seconds later.

"Must I go? I don't want to hunt, nor do I wish to leave." I complained. Heidi let go of me.

"Well, I thought that you loved to hunt. You seemed to enjoy it before." Aro looked at me questioningly.

"_Well_, I don't now!" I shouted again.

"Calm down, Amelia. I'll take care of this." Xavier appeared before us.

"Doesn't she remind you of Sicilia- in this way of course." Heidi smiled, and Xavier tensed.

"Shut up, Heidi." Xavier packed venom into every word.

She hissed.

"Everyone, please, please, settle down!" Aro begged.

"You're just jealous that Sicilia defeated you before- you little suck up!" Xavier ignored Aro.

"She's DEAD now, so what should it matter to me!" Heidi replied.

"She could have been more than you will ever be!" Xavier yelled back.

"She would have died sooner or later, and she didn't deserve to be a vampire anyway. She was an incompetent and vile little creature!" Heidi just committed suicide.

Xavier jumped her and tore into her skin like it was butter.

"Enough!" Caius threw Xavier off Heidi.

He smashed into the wall.

I rushed over to him. "What did you think you were doing?" I scolded my own father as I healed a small cut on his forehead.

"Amelia!" Marcus called me over to heal Heidi.

"No." I declared. If Xavier could stand up for himself, then so could I.

"Don't be absurd." Caius complained.

"I've leaving your little slave plantation!" In a blink of an eye I grabbed my normal clothing and ran out of the hotel.

Everyone besides Xavier stayed with Heidi.

"Go back!" He yelled when I was out the doors of the hotel doors. "Sicilia did this to me, don't do this to Damien!"

I stopped. "I barely know him. You can't fall in love with someone in a few hours. It's impossible.

"And what makes you think Aro will let me escape again?"

There was an awkward silence.

"Damien will help you." He begged.

I considered that. I'd been so used to dealing with things myself that I forgot that I actually had vampires who _cared _about me now.

"Alright, let's go." I smiled, and ran back to the patio.

Xavier beat me; he was fast. "How'd you get here so fast?" I asked stunned.

"I'll tell you later." He said.

"Damien, Dominic!" I called out for them.

Damien was next to me in a second.

"Don't, she'll reject you." Dominic whispered in Damien's ear, but it was loud enough for me to hear.

Damien slumped, and looked confused.

_Ugh. _I thought. He expressed himself too much. Now that was pathetic… but yet so… cute. It was hard to be mad at him.

The girl named Channel and her "boyfriend" came up to us too.

I accidentally eyed her. I guess that it was a reaction, but I knew that my mother had a suicidal mind.

"Hey, she wanted to die." She got defensive.

"I know." I replied, and she smiled.

"At least you don't think like your mother," Heidi hissed as she came at me, but she stopped mid-way.

"Everyone, there has been a delay. We're terribly sorry about this, and please leave in an orderly fashion." Marcus announced.

Everyone moaned, but exited quickly.

Heidi snarled- it was a hideous sound.

I clung to Xavier. I wasn't going to lose my father when I had just met him. I would heal him and guard him with my life- or existence- if that even made sense.

"Part of it's your fault you know. You clung to Sicilia like that. She probably got tired of it, and that's why she left you at Alexander's." Heidi snarled again.

Xavier cringed, and closed his eyes. I couldn't imagine what was going through his mind.

I hugged him tighter.

"Xavier!" Dominic warned.

Xavier pulled me to the side as Heidi dove towards us- she missed.

I looked away from Heidi and saw all of the Volturi facing us.

We were doomed.

Jane smiled at me.

I crumpled to the ground away from Xavier.

It was the same horrific pain that I'd felt before. I struggled, growled, and hissed- trying to escape it. I felt like I was dying again.

I also heard growls, hisses, and snapping behind my own.

"Spare her!' Someone yelled.

"Spare them both and-," The voice was cut off by a crunch.

The pain increased.

Then it stopped.

Damien was dragging me- he was drenched in blood- into the woods of the meadow we'd been in before.

"What happened to you?" I asked- concerned.

"Act like you're dead!" He commanded.

I listened, and he continued to drag me into the trees.

Then, the illusion was over, but we were in the hotel. I saw the logic in that. The meadow was the patio, and the trees were the hotel surrounding it.

"Xavier, Channel, and Dominic- what about them?" I asked.

"They can take care of themselves. Channel will help them; her power is similar to mine. And Xavier can transport. He'll disappear before their eyes. They can fight the Volturi off."

"What about Dominic?" I asked again, concerned for his lovable big brother.

He closed his eyes and fell down to my level. He shook his head.

"Oh, Damien!" I held him in my arms- healing him and comforting him.

"What about that other boy Channel was with?" I asked, still healing him. He was wounded very badly.

"Oh, Chris? He'll be fine. Channel protects him with her life. If she lives, he does."

Damien sighed- probably because I was holding him.

I laughed.

"Alright, I can heal myself now. Xavier wants me to get you out of here."

"Ok," I agreed.

Damien stood up, and held out his hand.

I sniffed, and got up myself. "Don't try and take advantage of me."

He laughed.

We started running out of Volterra. I had tons of things going through my head.

Would everyone survive? (Besides Dominic.) Where were Damien and I going? Would the Volturi come after us? What was going through Damien's mind right now?

I pushed myself farther so I could catch up to Damien.

"Where are we going?" I asked- or almost shouted.

"Florence," He replied.

"Where's that?"

Abruptly, he stopped.

I skidded a few feet in front of him.

"Don't tell me you don't know where Florence is?"

"Well, I don't exactly remember much." I said sarcastically.

"How long have you been a vampire?" He asked.

I looked down. "A few… months…"

"Months?" He choked.

"Yeah…"

He inhaled sharply. "What do you remember?"

"I remember…" I'd never really _tried_ to look back. I'd _attempted_, but I hadn't _tried_.

A few memories flashed before my eyes.

Her face- my mother's adoring smile, and… the other one was when I was 6 years old… watching the snowfall from my window at the asylum.

Damien saw the pain on my face. "Nevermind."


	6. Florence

It only took Damien and I about 30 minutes to get to Florence. And, on the way there, I kept getting flashbacks. Some of them even made me cry. I had no idea that I'd had such a horrible life before. I was going to have a talk with Xavier when I got the chance- if I got the chance.

One of the flashbacks was of a person that was my friend. She usually got made fun of, so I took her under my wing. She always believed that her mother or father would come back for her… but they never did.

The kids at the asylum kept making fun of her- they called her a freak, and they called me one too. But, the most devastating part of it was that the little girl learned that she had cancer. She died, never meeting her parents. And I saw her face as she died in her sleep one night, and that it was full of pain- even in death.

Another was of Sicilia. I was a newborn baby, and she held me in her arms, with a beautiful smile spread across her face. Then, a second later, Xavier was comforting her as she cried when I was carried away. I heard my own cries as I reached out for her. I remembered her running after the car as they drove me away…

I remembered being fourteen, and sitting by a creek that ran by the asylum. I watched the currents fight each other. It was raining hard, and it was thundering. But I sat, scowling, into the water. And a tear dripped onto the ground. One of the workers tried to get me back inside, but I wouldn't budge. I just sat, and got soaked.

But, the one that hit me the hardest was the one of a boy, a muscular boy who beat me up. The kids laughed as I fell to the ground. "You'll never be anything but a little insect," The boy said, and kicked me in the ribs. I felt the pain when I remembered it. He picked me up by the arm, and punched me in the gut, the eye, and then threw me to the ground again. He kicked me one more time before he left with everyone else. I lied in the dirt, trying to pick myself up, but I couldn't. The boy came up to me again and kicked me on the head. 'Don't ever wake up…' were the last words that I heard before I was knocked out. I was only ten years old.

I tried so hard to block them out; to push them away, to forget them completely. But, it was impossible to forget them. They would be inside me forever.

Damien noticed me acting all doom and gloom.

We were walking in the streets of Florence, and we were heading for a hotel.

"What's wrong? Ever since I asked you _that_ question, you've been acting strange." He looked truly concerned. "Please, tell me."

"It's nothing really. I just remembered a few things- that's all. And I'm sure I'll forget about them in no time." I lied.

He looked skeptical. "You know I'm not going to let you off that easy."

I gave up- because he wouldn't. I told him about my flashbacks, and how I'd wished for death. I'd had a suicidal mind too.

"I'm sorry… if there's anything I can do- no, that's no in my power." Damien was sympathetic.

"Who's then?" I asked.

"Yours, you have to get through it on your own. There's nothing I can do."

I smiled, and looked up at the stars. They were so beautiful, and I didn't even remember the stars.

"Let's go get you another outfit to wear, you know, besides that one." He pointed to my red shirt, jeans, and my Converses that I was holding.

"None of the stores are open!" I laughed and pointed to the closed shops.

"Oh, yeah…"

I laughed even harder.

"Sicilia?" An almost inaudible voice came from an alleyway.

I turned to see an old man, sitting against the sidewalk. He had a very strong Italian accent.

He started to talk to me, but I couldn't understand him. Thankfully, Damien could speak Italian as well as Spanish.

"He says to tell your mother 'hi' for him, and he also says that he's sorry for mistaking you for her." Damien translated.

"Well, tell him she's dead." I said.

Damien turned to face the old man again.

"He's sad, and he says that he sends his prayers to you." Damien translated again.

"How do you say 'thank you' in Italian?" I asked Damien.

"Grazie," He whispered in my ear.

"Grazie!" I told the creepy grandpa.

He smiled and waved as Damien grabbed my hand pulled me away from him.

"Let's not talk to that guy anymore," He whispered.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, he has problems."

"What kind of problems?" I needed more details.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Seriously, you don't."

"Okay then…" I chuckled quietly.

Wait, Damien was holding my hand! My face lit up at being able to touch him. His skin was unusually smooth, and, well, I liked him.

"Chris, no… I…" I heard Channel's voice coming from behind us.

Damien and I turned to face them.

Chris was talking quietly to her.

"No! Can't we just…" Her voice faded.

I took a step forward; Damien pulled me back. "Chris has "seizures" when he gets too stressed out. Just leave them alone." He whispered.

"But I need to ask them about Xavier!" I whined.

"Why?" Xavier walked up behind me. Unlike Chris and Channel, he had no wounds. My dad _was_ amazing.

Then four other vampires walked up behind them, and there was human girl too.

"Hey, you are a part of the Volturi!" I growled at two of them. I let go of Damien's hand and stomped forward- baring my teeth.

"Amelia, they're on our side- be reasonable. And, they used to live here, so they can guide us around the city." Xavier explained.

"Oh, sorry…" I apologized.

The girl one sniffed and the boy one told me that it was 'OK'.

Channel and Chris walked up then.

"Xavier, did you know that your daughter has no idea where she is? Did you know that she doesn't even know what planet we're on?" Damien, the traitor, told Xavier.

"Thanks, Damien. Now I'm BUSTED!" I shouted playfully, and hugged Xavier. "Please don't ground me!"

The Volturi girl actually cracked a smile.

"Shut up and go heal everyone." Xavier laughed.

"Fine, but I know that deep down inside, you wish that you could ground me." I smiled, and held Chris's shoulder- healed it.

I searched Channel, but she didn't have any cuts- or so I thought.

"Right here," She pointed to the back of her neck, where there was a huge gash.

"Ouch, now that's got to hurt," I said, and healed it.

The Volturi people were fine, Xavier was fine, but behind them, I saw the human girl. Her face had 'Help me' written all over it. The other vampire had his arm around her waist, and she clung to him.

"How can you do that?" I asked him. "Wait, that's none of my business… may I?" He had a cut across his cheek, and the girl had blood spewing from her forearm.

He nodded.

I touched his face; he closed his eyes and squeezed the girl harder- as if the healing hurt.

The girl looked up at the boy vampire- with questions in her eyes; he nodded.

I reached out for her- she held out her arm. It was shaking.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt." I held her arm very gently, and it healed. The blood disappeared as well.

They both relaxed.

"What about you?" I turned to a pixie like vampire who stood next to them.

"I'm fine." She said.

"What do we do now?" Damien asked.

"Follow us," One of the Volturi started to walked away with the other- everyone followed.

"Can ask you a few things," I eyed Xavier as we followed them.

"Of course,"

"Did you know that my life at the asylum was horrible?" I looked up at him.

"Yes, in some ways we did. But, it wasn't our place to come rescue you. You have to rescue yourself; you have to protect yourself. Most of the time, no one will be there to help you. That's the lesson we wanted to teach you." Xavier explained.

I felt anger building up inside me. Did they even care about me before? If they'd known what had happened to me when they were vampires, how come they didn't come back for me?

"Did you even care that I when I was 10 YEARS OLD I got the crap beat out of me? Did you even think that I needed you?" I glared at him.

Everyone was still walking- because of the human girl- but I knew that they were listening.

Xavier just stared at me.

"Did you even love me? You are my father, for Christ's sake, you should want the best for me!" I let even more anger out.

Xavier kept staring.

"Whatever," I was fuming, but I had to keep the rest inside. Arguing wouldn't get me anywhere.

"Amelia," Xavier started.

I kept ignoring him.

Then someone tapped me one the shoulder. I let my expression relax- I wasn't going to take my anger out on someone else.

It was the human girl- the vampire boy was still by her side.

"They loved you, even though you may not think so." She was a little smarter than I gave her credit for.

"How would you know?" I asked.

"Bella," The boy whispered in her ear.

"My parents are divorced, so I guess I know how you feel…" Bella spoke a little more quietly. Fear was plain in her eyes.

"It's different," I turned back around.

Everyone was quiet, except for a few small conversations here and there. The boy vampire was always whispering in her ear, or kissing her.

I couldn't hold back a gag.

Everyone stared at me.

"Oh… um… yeah… sorry…" I tried to hold back a smile.

More sudden mood changes- it probably came with being a vampire.

The boy vampire made a low growl.

_Ha! _I thought. Did he know how disgusting his lips sounded?

He growled even louder.

_God, take a chill pill._ Wait… was he reading my-

This would be fun.

He growled again.

_Shut up. _I thought.

He hissed.

I giggled.

"Do you honestly think this is funny?" He scoffed.

_Yes… maybe…_

He snarled.

_Talk about anger-management issues._

He hissed even louder.

Damien walked to my side.

_Well, at least I have a better taste. _That would tick him off. But, I really didn't have anything against this Bella.

Damien flashed a horrid glanced at the boy vampire. Geez, Damien could look scary.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I was just trying to have fun…" I apologized.

The boy sniffed, and made an I-am-very-annoyed sound.

Damien walked back to his original position.

And, then it was DEAD silent.

No one, ANYWHERE, said anything. Paranoia crawled up my spine.

The paranoia quickly turned into anxiety. Why? Why did these kinds of things have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve this wretched fate?

Now, I was just getting bored. I was planning on asking, 'Are we there yet?', but everyone would just laugh and not answer my question. It was a classic, childish line.

I sighed loudly- everyone turned to look at me.

"What?"

They turned back around.

And I swear, it was 2 hours until we reached our destination.

"We're here," The Volturi girl stepped in front of a normal sized house made of stone. It stretched into 2 stories, and, as I looked through a window, I could tell that it was very luxurious inside.

Everyone walked in, but I stayed out for awhile.

_Thank god Damien didn't stay with me- I would have ripped his head off._ I thought. Damien was getting over-protective.

Then, it started.

I heard furious shouting and yelling. Practically everyone was arguing.

Damien and Xavier.

Channel and Chris.

It was never ending.

"That's just plain pathetic," I muttered to myself.

I decided to change into my regular clothing.

I sat my damp dress on the stone sidewalk.

The yelling continued.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

I slammed the door open and stomped in. "God Damn it! What is wrong with you people? Can't you just shut up for 2 seconds?" I screamed.

I groaned, and stormed back outside.

The Volturi girl came out, too. "I'm Raven. But, please just call me Ra. And, thanks. I was about to yell at them myself."

I smiled; At least she didn't argue. "I'm Amelia."

"What was all that other stuff about- like when you and that guy were fighting about who loved who?" She asked me.

"Oh, I was just ranting. It's nothing."

"You seem to get a lot of attention," She said.

"I don't mean to. I guess it just happens when you're 'Too human'," I chuckled.


	7. Independence

"I've heard that before," Ra murmured- and then there was an awkward silence.

"Ra, come back inside!" The Volturi boy called for her- she groaned, but went back inside.

My adventure was coming to an end. Xavier or Damien would want me to come in anytime soon.

But, who needed them? Damien was a total kiss ass, and Xavier…

Well, Xavier could live without me.

Maybe, I could be free. Actually free; I could go where ever I wanted to, and not have all of this unwanted male attention. Sometimes girls just want to be themselves without having a guy stare at her.

And, if the Volturi wanted me, they'd have to come find me.

I took a step forward- "AMELIA NICOLE THOMPSON!" Xavier yelled, and grabbed my arm.

"Where do you think you are going?" (Classic line.) He eyed me.

"How did you know I was going to leave?"

"I have… connections… I guess… but that's not the point. The point is-,"

"What ever,"

"You're coming inside; so that I can keep my eye on you." He pulled me inside.

Chris was sitting on one couch with Channel. The vampire boy held Bella in his lap- with the pixie girl next to him. Ra and the other Volturi person were leaning against the wall. And Damien was sitting next to Chris.

He motioned for me to sit next to him.

I didn't- I stood in my own corner of the room.

Xavier was obviously giving a speech. I closed my eyes, and blocked him out. What ever he was saying wasn't important; he was just pathetic.

Sleep would have been helpful.

I looked over to the Bella girl.

She was sleeping.

_That's so unfair. _I thought.

"Everyone should know each other… let's start…" Parts of Xavier's speech made it through my invisible barrier.

"Intros…" I put my barrier down to listen. Knowing everyone's just _might_ be helpful.

"Amelia," He put a hand on my shoulder. "Edward and Alice Cullen," He pointed to The pixie girl and the boy. "And the human girl is Bella," He continued. "Raven and Kevin," He pointed to the Volturi people. "Chris and Channel Valensky," He gestured to them. "And my dear friend Damien…" I put my barrier up again.

"She'll need food when she wakes up," I reminded Edward and Alice. I had interrupted Xavier's lecture- for now it classified as one.

"We know," Alice answered.

"But do you know how the get some- I mean, if she wakes up at three."

She frowned and turned to whispered in Edward's ear.

He looked at me very intently. He was probably tuning in on my thoughts. He was probably trying to figure out where to find the food.

I only smiled. There was no way I was going to let him find out. He would need me to help her.

I owed that Bella girl one. She'd tried to be sympathetic when I was mad at Xavier. Getting her food was the least I could do.

Now he was glaring at me.

_Okay, Okay… you don't want me up in your business… I get it. But first… will you get out of mine!_

I knew he knew what I meant.

_I hope you to make it out of here alive. _

_AMELIA! _I heard a voice in my head scream. I knew it was Sicilia's. I sat down against the wall- preparing for another painful flashback.

_Get out of there! _She chuckled. I was crawling into the kitchen, and preparing to attack the fridge. _I've feed you already! What more do you want?_ She picked me up and rocked me back and forth.

_DAMN YOU! SHE'S MY CHILD! _She was screaming at the phone now. _YOU'LL NEVER TAKE HER FROM ME! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE A MOTHER! I'LL MOVE TO ANTARTICA IF I HAVE TO! _There was pause as she was listening to the person's response. _NO! THAT IS THE WORST PLACE THAT YOU COULD EVER THINK OF! SHE DESRVES BETTER THAN THAT! SHE DESERVES A FAMILY! _Xavier was patting me on the back after I'd eaten. I yawned. I felt a tear soak into my pajamas.

Then I was seventeen, and at the asylum again. The boy had been beating me up. But this time, I fought back. _LEAVE ME ALONE! _I punched him in the nose, and kicked him in the groin. _WHAT THE HELL… _He crumpled to the ground. I jumped on top of him and kept punching him in the face as hard as I could. Blood was spewing from his mouth. I got up and kicked him several times. It thundered, and it started to rain. I kicked him in the head. _DON'T EVER WAKE UP! _I mocked him, but he didn't just get knocked out. He really didn't wake up.

I screamed a horrific shriek. It was loud. The whole city of Florence probably heard it.

Bella woke up.

"Idiot!" I screamed, and hit myself in the head. "You're a murderer! You killed him! You killed him!" I pressed my fingers to my temples.

"What's happening?" Bella was scared have to death.

"Amelia, calm down." Xavier ushered and came towards me.

I sprang to my feet and ran out the door.

I slammed myself into the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I slammed my head against the pavement.

"Wait," I stood up, and took control of myself. "Who cares? He deserved to die? Why should I care?"

I sighed and turned around.

Almost everyone was staring at me.

"You can laugh now," I said. "I know that that was pretty stupid." I coughed on purpose. "Sorry."

"OK, now this is just awkward." I said when no one said anything.

"Look, I'm not telling any of you anything about my little break down. I don't expect you to be sympathetic."

Oh, god! I hate these mood changes!

They walked back inside. Everyone should just forget that I exist. And, I'm really starting to hate being the center of attention because it's not a good thing when you're mentally insane.

Yes! Now I can escape!

I took off like a bullet. Xavier would never catch me now.

"Amelia," _Felix_ stepped out in front of me.

I skidded to a stop.

"What do you want?" I hissed.

"Aro wants you to come back to Volterra,"

"Well, tell Aro that-,"

"Why don't you go tell him yourself?" Felix interrupted me.

Then a very random thing crossed my mind. Felix was everywhere. If there was an important event, he was there, and he would be there when you least expected it.

"Screw you!" I took off again. He tried to trip me, but I kept my balance.

"Aren't you glad Aro isn't here to come save you? Or your precious Damien?"

"Oh my god, shut up! Damien is a kiss ass, and I can take care of myself." I was getting angrier.

I took in a deep breath. Calm. Be calm.

"Oh, good. I'm glad you don't like him anymore, because that means that I don't have to kill him." He was suddenly in front of me, I saw him coming, but no human could have.

"And, are you sure you can take care of yourself?" He leaned closer.

I pushed him away with a lot of force.

"Oh please, are you honestly still infatuated with me?" I snarled.

"Why, do you love me too?" He smiled.

I threw myself at him- ripping and tearing.

Someone pulled me off. "I'll handle this." A beautiful voice flowed into the wind.

I realized that when I sliced into Felix, that I hurt him, but if I sliced again, I healed him. It wasn't a very good combination.

The man moved so fast, that I couldn't see him. I could only see that he had short black hair.

Before I knew it, Felix was up in flames, and the man was no where to be seen.

"Thank you," I said to no one.

"You're welcome." The voice came from behind me, it was still so magnificent. It sounded even more beautiful than any vampires'.

A gust of wind almost knocked me over- he was gone.

Then there was a bunch of Italian clamor coming towards me, they were obviously coming to see what was burning.

I turned and ran into an alley.

A little black cat sat on a trash can- staring at me.

It shape-shifted into a vampire.

"Christina," She held out her hand. "You must be Amelia."

I didn't shake it. "So you're the other girl who killed my mother!"

"So? Does it matter anymore? She's dead, and it's not like she'll come back to life."

"You have a point."

"Duh! Of course I do." She scoffed. "And I see that you couldn't take on Felix by yourself."

"Who was he?"

"How the hell should I know?" She had attitude- but it was funny. It wasn't the same kind of snotty attitude that Jane and Heidi had. "But, at least Felix is dead. He was such a &#!$ perve."

"OK… well I think that's settled." I said- as I was about to crack up at her use of that certain profanity.

"Amelia!" A man came out of the shadows.

"Dominic?" I shrieked.

"The one and only… where's Damien? I thought he'd be with you."

"Um… I don't know how to direct you there. I'd have to escort you… but I can't go back there…"

"Why?"

"Yeah, that's a long story."

Christina shape-shifter back into a cat, and ran deep into the alley.

"I have time."

"Well, I don't, so I guess I'll just show you the way." I groaned, and walked out of the alley.


	8. Assassins

I ran through the streets and past the clamor. My sneakers barley made a sound.

Dominic followed close behind me.

I thought about what would happen when I got to that place- which was in sight now. I couldn't go inside, nor could I go with in feet of it. They would detect my scent immediately.

I stopped. "That's it," I pointed to the townhouse. "Damien is in there."

"'K, thanks." He ran up to the door and I sped away… again. This was, I hoped, the last time that I was going to have to run away from the same people- er, vampires.

I went into the outskirts of the city for the rest of the night. I caught the scent of a rat while I was walking. (I'd slowed down.) Killing a tiny helpless rat wouldn't be a crime- it would probably be a good thing. Rats, as far as humans were concerned, were a nuisance.

I snatched it and sunk my teeth in. It was not gourmet- it almost tasted disgusting. And, it only took a few seconds for me to suck it dry. That was not what I was expecting.

"Nice," I heard the same musical voice- it was the man, or rather boy.

I could see him now. (Alright- who has seen Spiderman 3? Well if you have, picture Spiderman when he turns bad; his new hair style and his new clothing. And then, instead of the actors face, picture Edward's. I know, HOT! For those of you who don't know- watch the preview. He's sitting at the desk with his legs propped onto it. If you haven't seen it, or you can't, I don't know any other way to describe him. I guess saying that he has an emo or punk look would work… maybe. He's not bi-sexual like most emos' are, though.)

"Well, it was all I could manage." I said, getting defensive- I dropped the dead rat and turned around on my heel.

Guys were no longer important. They were just out to get what they wanted. If a guy really wanted me, he would have to work for it. Girls are not toys. (For you man-whores out there.)

"I wasn't criticizing your taste." He called after me.

"Shut up- you were." I walked faster out of the alley.

"What did I do to you? I saved your life!"

"You did not! Felix wasn't going to kill me…" It was a dead end.

I sighed and jumped to a fire escape. I jumped up on the ledges until I got to the top floor.

He was still following me.

"You're right. He wasn't going to kill you- he was going to ra-,"

"Shut up! And will you please shut down your sick mind?" I cut him off.

"Okay, I can see that you're mad. But can I please know your name?"

"No." I jumped onto the roof.

"Please?" His voice was irresistible- perfect. I was in shock. I'd never met anyone like him. He was TOO perfect; he was impossible.

"Who are you?" I blurted as I ran across the flat roof tops.

He became invisible again. He ran too fast.

A hand shot out of nowhere. It was like a tree branch; it stuck out- knocking me over. There had been a loud crash when I'd hit it.

"I believe that I asked you first." The boy was standing over me.

I hissed and sprang lightly to my feet.

"Amelia." I sputtered.

"Timothy." He said calmly.

"Ok, I told you my name. Can you leave me alone now? I am sick and tired of men!" The last part just came out.

He started to crack up.

I slapped him. "SHUT UP AND GO!" I glared at him.

"Don't take out your bad experiences on me. I didn't do anything to you!"

"You talked to me! I don't even want to talk to my own father! So, will you please go?" I pleaded.

"I will. And, I didn't have that intention. I wasn't trying to_ seduce _you."

"Oh, really? What were you planning to do, then?" I spoke to no one.

I sighed. Yes, he was gone. Hopefully, no one else would disturb me.

"He's such a bitch, isn't he?" Christina walked over to me.

"GO! My god, can't I just have some time to myself? Oh, and, so are you."

"Slut." She muttered.

"Whatever." I got up and jumped of the edge of the building.

I landed gracefully on the stone pavement below. I must have jumped about 5 stories.

I smiled; another advantage to being a vampire.

"The sun is rising you know. I would find shelter." She gave me one last warning.

"They're everywhere," I said to myself. Vampires were everywhere I went, and every single one of them just had to come and talk to me.

_Oh, right… shelter…_ I thought. A hotel would be nice… there was bound to be one in Florence.

I ran until I found one with a gorgeous fountain.

I went into the main lobby.

Everyone spoke Italian. "Crud!" I muttered. Where's Damien when you need him?

By now I was feeling frustrated to the extreme. Maybe I should have stayed with everyone else.

It would be best to go speak English to one of the lobbyists' instead of standing in the doorway like an idiot.

"Excuse me," I smiled an alluring smile, and positioned my body fluidly as I spoke to a male lobbyist. He looked up from his computer and was momentarily stunned. "Do you speak English?" I asked.

"Yes." He said, but with a heavy Italian accent.

"I need a room- I'll be staying for a few days."

"Do you have a reservation?" He asked. I could smell his blood pumping hot and fast underneath his skin.

I resisted the temptation. _Later… _I told myself.

"No, but I really need some place to stay." I gave him a cute look and a wink.

"Um… Al- Alright. I'll see what I can do."

Men…

"We have a room on the third floor. I'll have someone take your things." He looked down.

"Um… do you have any?"

"I'm ditching someone…" I said quietly.

"Oh, okay then. It's $250 a night, and here's the key. It's room 67." He was about to faint, I could tell by his heart beat.

I'd taken myself too far.

I turned around to the elevators, trying to be clumsy. I wasn't successful. It's too hard to be clumsy when you're graceful.

I heard him collapse and the thud of his body hitting the ground. I couldn't help but giggle.

I got in the elevator and saw the crowd of people hovering over him. I giggled again.

A small bell ringed- signaling that I was on the third floor.

I walked out and saw my room. It was all the way at the end of the hall.

I glanced down the other hall- no one was there.

I ran to my door and quickly opened it.

"Classic," I said under my breath.

The room was paneled in an all white wood with the bathroom door right next to the entrance. Tile covered the entry way and then a light cream colored carpet covered the bedroom. There was two double beds, a bedside table, a lamp, and a dresser sitting in the middle of the room. One stair elevated the small kitchen. There was also a brilliant window that overlooked the beautiful city- a loveseat sat beneath it.

Reluctantly, I pulled the curtains inwards and sat down on one of the beds.

_This is going to be a long day… _I thought.

I sat thinking about what I could have done differently the past night. I shouldn't have run away… I shouldn't have slapped Timothy… I shouldn't have caused that boy to faint…

The next time I made a decision I would think over it more. I was making mistake after mistake.

"Room service…" I bored maid came in with a frown. The tone of her voice gave off an "I wish I could die," vibe, or a, "God I hate my job," vibe.

"I'm fine." I got up off the bed and faced her.

"Oh, okay then," She yawned and wheeled her cart out of my room.

I spent the rest of the day snooping. I look through the dresser to see if anyone had left anything behind. I looked in the fridge, but being a vampire, I found nothing useful.

Finally, I turned on the T.V. I flipped through the channels; every single one of them was Italian. I made a mental note to learn that language whenever I got the chance. But I could pick out a few words that were in Spanish. None of them made any sense applied to the Spanish grammar.

I sighed and flipped off the T.V. I fell backwards onto one of the beds. Now would have been the perfect time to sleep. Time would pass so much faster only if I could sleep.

I closed my eyes and focused on sleep. I slowed down my breathing- hoping that it would lower my pulse rate…

I cursed under my breath. Even if I did slow down my breathing, nothing would happen because nothing else would slow down. Nothing else would happen because I was one of the eternal damned.

"Damn it!" I slammed my fist down on the night stand. It snapped into two sharp pieces of wood.

I picked one of them up and shoved it into my stomach. But, it healed.

I started to dry sob. Choking down and shoving my head into the pillows I screamed and punched the mattress.

"Why… why?" I repeated in a coarse voice.

There was a light knock on the door. "Amelia? Are you okay? Can I come in?" It was a man's voice, and I knew exactly who it was. But how did _he _find me?

"No, you can't! Just go away! I don't need anyone- especially someone like you!" I threw a pillow at the door.

"Please, you're being irrational and difficult!" Xavier begged.

"NO!" I screamed.

"Amelia…" He sighed. There was another voice there and then I heard him walk away.

I heard the jingling of a key and I heard Damien's voice.

Damien stormed into the room, followed by an anxious Xavier. "Get up!" Damien commanded. I considered letting him get away with his sudden confidence, but I wasn't in a forgiving mood. Instead I continued to keep my face hidden in the pillows. If he wanted me to get up, or for me to anywhere with him, he'd have to drag me. And since I'd failed at my attempted suicide, I was going insane. I was on the verge of having convulsions.

_Get a hold of yourself, get a hold of yourself._ I repeated- trying to calm myself.

Someone grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me off of the bed- I grabbed one of the pillows. I used the pillow the hide my face. "Go away," My voice was muffled. As if he would. I had seen the anger in Damien's eyes, obviously, he was being serious. He wasn't about to let me be stubborn.

Damien yanked the pillow away from me, and _slapped _me. I was momentarily in a state of shock. Damien, Damien the boy who had seemed so shy and timid had actually _slapped_ me. I hadn't seen this side of him before. I wanted to congratulate him. He'd finally managed to stick up for himself, or had he just been shy at first? That's how most _humans_ would act the first time they met someone. But, I'd had little experience with the ways of other vampires. The Volturi were over-confident, so maybe that was why they weren't shy when I'd first met them. Maybe Damien wasn't a total kiss ass, maybe…

Understanding washed over my face before Damien slapped me in the face. Again. "What the hell is wrong with you? What did you think you were doing? Are you mentally retarded or something? I thought better of you before you started to slam your head against stones. You can't let your memories control your life. I just thought I better tell you this before you lose yourself to it. Now, I just want to know why you left. What have I done wrong? I saved your life for Christ's sake! You need to forgive Xavier, as well. He was only trying to teach you a lesson. And Sicilia was too distracted by her abnormality to ever be able to help you, but it was her dying wish that Xavier raise you well. And so far, I think he's failing. I mean, look at you!" He glared at me- his golden eyes smoldering.

Damien's words hurt me, even though they were true. They wouldn't have hurt as much if they hadn't came from him. I had hated him at first, but they say that you hate the people that are the most like you. So, was he like me? Was he more human than that of the average vampire?

I shook my head fiercely to clear my chaotic train of thought. Damien gave me a confused look, and then he held my face between his cold hands. "Amelia," he breathed, looking down in disapproval. "I only meant to point out you incompetence at the moment."-he shook his head slowly- "You are unstable. Perhaps you should sit down now." Damien was right. The room began to tilt at the oddest angle- as Damien had released my face. Stone hands caught me around the waist before everything went black.


	9. Recovering

It felt like only seconds later before I was conscious again. But, what had happened to me? Vampires just can't, I mean, they just _can't_ faint. To faint would mean that I had a lack of oxygen in my blood. And that was certainly not the case. I didn't need oxygen to survive. _How strange…_

"You are so weird," Damien chuckled beside me. He wore boxers and a white t-shirt that clung to his perfect chest. I couldn't help but stare- only for a second, though. (His beautiful untidy dark brown only added to the attraction.) He sat next to me on one of the double beds in the same hotel room.

"How long have I been out of it?" I focused only on Damien's face, trying not to let my eyes stray away from it, but then I turned to glance around the room. Xavier was no where to be seen, but Dominic sat on the other bed talking quietly to someone on his cell phone. I strained to hear the other voice. It was Ra's. I smiled- good for Dominic. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from Ra about not irritating his brother to death. She seemed like the type of person who hated arguing. (Obviously.)

"About half an hour," He glanced at a clock on the _new_ bed side table. "It's 9 o'clock P.M. Oh, and, Xavier us to change into something a little less 'conspicuous'. Here." He tossed me a pair of pajamas. They were hideous. I held them out before me, and stared at them in disgust.

"Blech. Did Xavier pick these out?" I continued to eye them. It was a pair of shorts that had little dancing dogs on them, and the shirt had three of them, and below them in said, "Celebrate Life." They were so childish.

"No, Dominic did." He was holding back a smile. I jerked my head around to glare at Dominic. I slammed the pajamas down on the mattress, and stomped the few feet between the beds. I yanked his phone away from him when he didn't look up to acknowledge me.

"I'm sorry, Ra, but he can't talk anymore. He's in big trouble." I snapped the phone shut. "What is the meaning of this? You seemed like the type of guy who hangs around girls a lot, I expected you to know how we like to dress. But, no! You don't! You have to choose the most hideous pajamas out there!"

He stared at me for a while before he started to crack up. "I just wanted to see how you would react to them! You are so gullible! It's hilarious!" He rolled on the bed before he pulled out a different pair. "Here. Channel picked these out for you before she left. She knew that you'd explode once you saw those!" He pointed to the ugly pajamas, and then handed me the other ones. It was a white cami with _pink _shorts. I hated pink. It was the bane of my existence, not literally of course.

Dominic's smiled widened even more. I threw the shorts in his face. "Dominic!"

"Alright, alright." He gave me a pair of light blue shorts.

"Thank you, but I can't believe you went through so much trouble into that joke." I smiled, and turned to change in the bathroom, because, even if I changed faster than a _human's_ eyes could see, it didn't mean that I could change faster than a _male vampire's _eyes could see.

"I take great pride in my work." Dominic stuck his nose up in the air. Damien laughed, just before I shut the door behind me.

I quickly slipped into them and brushed my hair. I was primping for only one person- Damien. And I couldn't hide it. The least I could do was look presentable.

I stole one last glance at myself before I skipped out. I twirled around in the doorway, and smiled at Damien. I couldn't believe that I had disliked him. I shouldn't have judged him so quickly. I was some what glad that I'd "fainted", because I began to think more rationally.

I danced over to Dominic and Damien. I reached for both of their hands, and pulled them along as I skipped around the room. I heard their careless laughter from behind me. Then, I let go of Dominic's hand and turned to jump into Damien's arms.

He caught me, but stiffened. He quickly sat me down on the bed and ran to the door. He opened it before Xavier could even raise his hand.

"You tag teamed me!" Dominic complained. "You two are too distracting! I would have beaten you to the door if you hadn't been-," He pressed his lips together. Xavier glared at Damien.

"Chill out, dad. It was my fault- I'm just so happy to be happy again! I hope we aren't going anywhere, because I haven't gotten the chance to play poker!" I pulled a deck of cards out of thin air. (Earlier in the day, I'd found them in the dresser.)

"Alright!" Damien snatched the cards from my hand and beat Dominic to the small dining table. "Your going down, Dominic!" He started dealing the cards.

"What were you two doing while I was gone?" Xavier whispered.

"Nothing really-Dominic was pulling off sick jokes, and I danced with them. That's all." I smiled, trying to get him to stop eyeing Damien.

"_Both_ of them?" He was now glaring at me.

"It wasn't like that. Come on, let's go play poker. Wait; do you know how to play?" I knew that every dad would know how to play, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Of course I do! Geez, sometimes I think you don't know me." He ran over to the chair- nearly knocking it over in the process.

I chuckled and walked over to the empty chair next to Damien.

"Call," Dominic showed his cards. "4 of a kind! Beat that suckers!" He laughed.

"Ugh." Damien slammed his cards down, and Xavier had previously folded- so it was my turn.

"Sorry, Dominic." I spread my cards down on the table. "Royal Flush." I grinned greedily and took the pot.

"What?! You cheated! That hand is impossible!" He whined.

"No, it's not impossible- don't be such a sore loser." I continued to grin and stare at my huge pile of cash.

"I'm out." Xavier sighed. I looked across the table to see that he was broke. I smiled even wider.

"Your deal." Damien handed me the deck. I shuffled them, and dealt the cards.

"Draw, one-eyed Jacks and twos are wild. Ante is 5 bucks." I picked up my cards. I had 3 of a kind, one Queen, a five, a three, and a normal Jack. I settled for going for 4 of a kind. I discarded everything but my three nines.

"Dominic, it's your bet." I reminded him.

"I know… check." He stared at his cards, deliberating.

"10 bucks," Damien threw in a 10 dollar bill.

"I raise you… 10 more." I threw in a 20. Damien smirked, threw in two fives, and discarded three cards.

I grabbed two cards from the deck- I got an Ace and a three. "That wasn't helpful." I muttered.

Damien took one card from the deck, and Dominic folded. Damien's smile stretched between both of his ears.

"50," He tossed in two 20's and a 10.

"Argh." I folded.

Damien showed his cards. He had been bluffing. He only had a measly pair of 6's.

"Ha! Loser!" He took the pot.

"I only have 20 dollars left!" Dominic whined.

"You'll survive," I said as I eyed Damien.

"Indian," Dominic smiled. "Ante is 10 bucks. Ante up ass holes."

I threw in 10 bucks, then held my one card above my head- every one of us looked like an idiot. Xavier was cracking up at the sight. I hated Indian Poker.

I took one look at Damien's King, and folded. I turned to look at Dominic's ten. I pretended to be shocked so that he'd give up the rest of this money. It worked.

"I'm all in," He put in his ten.

"Fine," Damien pushed all of his money in. I noticed that he was looking ahead of himself, and not at the table. I followed his gaze to see that he was cheating. He could see his reflection in the microwave that sat on the kitchen counter.

"Cheater," I whispered in his ear. He stiffened, but turned to smile at me.

"Call," Dominic looked at his card. "Damn it! I'm out."

Damien chuckled.

Damien shuffled the cards, but the whole time he was doing it, he was looking at me. I looked away from his eyes and directed them towards the cards- I couldn't stand the way his eyes seemed to smolder mine.

In a way, I felt human around Damien, I felt… at ease, and comforted. It was unexplainable. How could a vampire be so gullible in this way; especially a vampire like me? I began to ask myself, why had I hated him so much before? Why had he seemed so… odd? My previous answer for those questions seemed possible, but not probable, because even after he'd known me for a few hours, and even when we'd been alone together, he'd seemed _on edge._

Or, was I just stupid? Was the answer right in front of me? Was Damien just being difficult there, or did he know something that I didn't know? Did he know something that neither Xavier nor Dominic knew? Was he keeping it inside, and shunning his knowledge?

My internal debating was interrupted by Damien's voice. "Texas Hold'em, ante is 10 bucks." He dealt the cards in only a few seconds, even before I could toss in my money.

I looked at my two cards, and calculated my chances of winning with the four cards Damien had laid out.

My two cards were a Queen and an Ace- a fairly good hand. The four cards in the middle were a Queen, a Jack, a ten, and a King. I could make a straight with a nine, but I had a pair of Queens too. "Check," It was my bet, but I wasn't sure yet.

"Check," Damien's expression was calculating, as well. Then, he burned one card, and put down the last card, it was nine. I grinned with pleasure. Dominic leaned over to see my cards. "Nice," He whispered, so low that Damien wouldn't be able to hear it.

I wanted this game to end as soon as possible. "I'm all in," Hopefully, Damien would match my bet.

He did. "That's a little risky, don't you think so Dominic?" We had made Dominic swear not to use his power to win. He swore, and lost. He kept his word, but clearly Damien was asking him to use them to his own advantage.

Dominic smiled, but didn't say anything.

It was the moment of truth. "Call," Damien showed his two cards. It was a Straight Flush.

"Damn it! You two played me!" I threw my cards down on the table. Dominic had only said that I had a nice hand just to boost my confidence. Well, I'd done the same thing, but it still wasn't fair!

"Excellent work, my brother." Dominic reached across the table extending a fist.

Damien took the pot, and then smacked Dominic's fist with his own. "Don't be such a sore loser, Amelia," Dominic smiled, self-satisfied.

Then, I realized he was mocking me.

"We're going 'out'," Xavier and Dominic headed towards the door. "And, Amelia, you're coming with us." Xavier gave me a dangerously serious look. It was threatening, but, I wasn't in the mood to hunt. I just lost a game of poker to a bunch of idiots, and now I was going to go take human life. It was the best mixture of _fun_ ever.

"Why?" I whined. "I don't feel like being a murderer right now."

Xavier laughed. "Do you think we're actually going to hunt, in a city?" His tone made the idea sound ridiculous, but I still couldn't figure anything out. How could they not hunt? What were they going to do?

"We'll break the law in any case. We'll be stealing something." Xavier was giving me another chance to guess it. What could they steal that could quench their thirst? Blood, obviously. But… steal?

"From where are you going to steal the blood from?" I asked.

Xavier hesitated. "A… hospital."

It hit me then. They were going to steal blood transfusions… or what ever they were.

Dominic saw the comprehension on my face. "Yep. They have them by the shitload." I nodded, but before anyone could do anything else, Xavier punched Dominic.

"Dominic, what have I told you? Never use that kind of language around my daughter, or any lady at that." Xavier scolded him like a true father, and not a pretend brother. He must have adopted them; Damien and Dominic. That was a bold move. I began to wonder: how long had they known each other?

Damien chuckled in all his glory. He sat, with his legs propped onto the table that we played cards on, counting his winnings, just to tick everyone off.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Xavier. "Fine, but we can not steal much. The humans need that, too." It was true, humans needed blood as much as we did. But, stealing it from a hospital… from somewhere so humble…

I glanced at the clock to see how much time we would have left to go shopping. I was in desperate need of new clothes. I would probably have an hour left before the sun rose, so I agreed to go with them.

"Wait, don't we need to change?" I asked, realizing that I was still in my "pajamas".

"What makes you think that anyone will see us?" Xavier chuckled.

I was night, but hospitals were open 24-7. We were bound to be seen. What did Xavier mean? How would we_ not _seen?

Xavier and Dominic exchanged a quick glance.

"Amelia, do you remember what I do? What my ability is?" Xavier asked.

Yes, I remembered. Xavier could teleport… but… oh! Maybe, if I touched him while he teleported, I could go with him.

"Yes, I remember. I know now. I feel so stupid." I looked down in embarrassment.

"It's okay. You didn't know. It just took you awhile to figure it out." Xavier put his hand on my shoulder.

I shook it off. "Enough with this sappy crap! Okay… let's go now."

"Um, Xavier," Dominic started. "I think I'll stay here." He glared at Damien. "I think I'll play another game."

"That's fine. Just don't get too competitive." Xavier smiled and winked at me. "Put your hand on my shoulder, now." He commanded.

I followed his command, then there was a beautiful bright light- it began to surround us.

Suddenly, we were at a hospital. "Get about five… yeah... five." Xavier went over to the freezer and opened it. The chilly air steamed out of it. There were many plastic bags full of blood. They wouldn't be as good as hot, fresh blood, but hopefully, they'd be satisfying.

I had grabbed three before I felt something hit me on the side and carried me down the hospital halls at an alarming speed.

I opened my to speak, but a cool, perfect hand covered my mouth. It gently held it shut. My stomach was filled instantly with butterflies. It was Timothy. I almost felt like fainting since I was being held against his body. In that moment I was human. Why would a vampire feel like this next to another one of-

His delicious voice was in my ear, I could feel his cool breath on my skin. "Hello, beautiful."


	10. Savior

My eyes practically rolled into my head. I couldn't get over this strange sensation that I was having because I was so near him. There had to be a name for something like this. Why was he so uncomprehendingly perfect? I'd never met anyone like him before... did Timothy have an ability, an ability to…? No, that couldn't be it. But, his voice- so irrestible, his touch- it made my whole body tingle, Timothy, himself- a god.

I couldn't think clearly anymore. My already chaotic mind had started shooting into so many areas of thought that I didn't have time to think at all. But, I knew that everything circled around Timothy.

Soon, my vision, well- I could no longer see clearly. But, then, his voice shot through the blur. "Amelia, Amelia!" Timothy was shaking my shoulders. He was touching me again! I could scream like a human girl in high school, when the guy she'd been crushing on forever actually spoke to her.

"Shit, hang on." He let go of me, and little by little I started to regain consciousness.

I tried to sit up, but when I did, I hit my head on a wooden beam. "What the…"

He put his hand over my chest and pushed me back down gently. His hand stayed on my body while I turned to my left to look at him.

He was looking a clock that he held in his hand, and, like me, he was smashed under a wooden beam. He was wearing a sleek black cloak, the hood of the cloak was pulled over his head- I couldn't see his face.

Now, I wasn't lost in him. I began to think more rationally. Where was I? How did I get here? I knew who Timothy was, but where had I been before…

Damien's face flashed before my eyes… so did Dominic's… and Xavier's, but I still couldn't figure out where I'd been. I knew their faces, Damien's, Dominic's, and Xavier's, but why did I know their names, but not the relationship that I had with each of them?

"Timothy, where are we?" I asked.

He pulled down his hood- his perfect face shocked me for a moment- and he smiled, a brilliant smile, revealing his perfectly white, dangerously sharp, and venom coated teeth. I cringed. I usually kept my teeth looking like the human's teeth. They only became sharp when I was in danger, or when I wanted them to show. I cringed again when I saw how black his eyes were.

"My name isn't Timothy, Amelia, but, you shall never know my real name. What you must know is that, I am no longer a threat to you, but a friend." His smile faded, his teeth changed back into the human form, and his eyes were now a deep burgundy.

No longer a threat? When was he ever a threat? Well, maybe two seconds ago when he looked like the devil himself, but other than that, I couldn't remember…

"I don't understand. When were you ever a threat to me?" I asked looking deep into his eyes.

A look of surprise rearranged his features and a gentle, friendly smile replaced it. "You mean, you don't know who I am?"

"No. I don't even know your name." I said.

"Well, I am one of Aro's lead assassins. Felix, Demetri, Christina, and I were sent to destroy you. But, I couldn't let something as pretty as you go to waste. I've never met any vampire as beautiful, as intelligent, as, well, _strange_ as you. That's how I feel at least. I don't know if anyone else sees that in you." He smiled again.

"No, you're actually the first person- vampire- to think that I'm not mentally insane." I chuckled.

"Really?" He whispered- for some unknown reason.

"Well, I guess Felix kind of had a thing for me, but no one else has…" I tried to remember. Then Damien's face flashed across my eyes again. I remembered the way he'd saved me at the dinner, the way we'd danced, the way he'd had sympathy for me when I'd remembered horrible things from my past, but more importantly, the way he'd hurt me. He'd told me the truth, but not all of what he said was true. Timothy, or whoever he was, had saved me once too. But, in a way, I felt more comfortable around Timothy. I didn't have to prove myself to him. Where as when I was around Damien, I felt as if I was trapped. I couldn't be myself. I was comfortable around Timothy; I could be happy, not nervous, not afraid, but _safe_.

"Yeah, I was kind of wondering what was going on between you and Felix. To tell you the truth, I was going to kill him even before I saw that you were trying to." Timothy admitted.

"Why?" I was only human enough to ask.

"Because he wasn't going to kill you, he was going to make Xavier do it, and then he'd kill him and your other friends. Christina, being a selfish whore, loved the plan. I was against this plan. I do not kill the innocent." He smiled.

"And we were innocent?" I smirked.

"Innocent of doing anything _bad_." Timothy grinned.

I chuckled. "I guess so, but I don't think I'm completely innocent. I've killed in my previous life." My smile faded and I looked up to see his expression.

"Who?" He asked- curiously.

"Well, he might have deserved it…" I told him all about my past. He agreed with me. It was like he knew me. He said that he wished that he could have been there for me. That was what I wanted in a man- I needed someone who would listen to me, I needed someone who would stand beside me, I needed someone who would pick me up if I fell. That was who Timothy was- I could tell already. I knew that he must be kind and caring to the ones he loved. I knew that he must be loyal- he stayed with Aro for many years.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I don't remember much. Everything that I do remember is very vague. I've worked for Aro as long as I can remember." He spoke quietly.

"That's probably what would have happened to me, had I not escaped. It's a join or die situation there." I shook my head.

"I have to ask, can you actually _die_? I mean, you can heal yourself. So if you died would your body repair itself?" He asked very intrigued. I considered not telling him all his personal information. He could still be working for the Volturi. He could be a spy.

"I don't know." I answered.

"TIMOTHY!!!" An ear shattering voice broke through the silence.

"Shit. Um, just, stay here. _Don't_ move, and be quiet." He warned and crawled over the wooden beam. He pulled his hood back over his head and disappeared into the darkness.

"There you are! Have you found them?" It was Christina.

"No." He answered- the voices were coming from below.

"Liar. I saw you and Amelia together- you like her. You won't kill her or her family- I know you. AND DON'T YOU DARE USE-," Christina's voice was cut off. I squeezed under the beam, and pressed my ear to the floor.

"Shut up, or I will." Timothy whispered.

She gasped. "You're using them on her aren't you? You are so bad!"

"I had to at first, and, just in case you are wondering, I plan on quitting." He spoke even more quietly. I kept pressing my ear down.

She gasped again.

"Where's Demetri?" He asked.

The floor board creaked. "Crap." I muttered jumping up.

As I got up, I accidentally cracked the beam in half and hit my head on the ceiling. Then, the floor board snapped. I tried to grab for something, but fell through the floor.

I screamed as I fell. I didn't hit the floor immediately- there were two staircases, both climbed up to the second floor in a circular ring. _(I don't really know how to describe this place, but I will put pictures of it on my homepage sooner or later.)_ Christina and Timothy were standing by the landing. I fell all the way to the second floor. I felt a tingling sensation go down my back. Very quickly, I flipped over and landed on the checkered marble floor below. The debris from above fell all around me. I quickly made a dash for the staircase.

"You!" Demetri came running into the entryway. He grabbed me by the arm.

"Piss off!" Timothy yelled. Demetri slammed into the wall- Timothy had obvious pushed him into it too fast for even my eyes to see.

"Leave this place!" Timothy disappeared.

"Timothy!" I yelled after him. Christina was doing nothing. She just stared at an archway in complete shock- then, there was a loud clamor of voices coming from it.

I decided that it was best to make a run for it. I tried to run, but Demetri had a hold of me again.

Then, Marcus flew through the west wall. An angry Timothy followed him, but not in the same way- he ran through the hole in the wall- his burgundy eyes were blazing with fury. His hands were balled into fists, and he bared his razor sharp teeth.

"You will cease to exist after I'm finished with you!" Suddenly, Timothy was standing over a pile of wood and held Marcus into the air by his cloak. Marcus soared through yet another wall as Timothy threw him again.

"Finish her!" I heard Caius yell from the archway that was full of probably every Volturi- the other assassins, the guards, Aro, Caius, Jane, Alec, Heidi- all of them were there. I was so dead.

But, then a shatter of hope overcame me. If my mother was as powerful as everyone had said, then, maybe, just maybe, I could be too. But, no one had told me what her power was. What did she do? I searched my mind for the possibilities. Telekinetics… shape-shifting… mind-reading…. Or, maybe, if I could heal anything, maybe I could hurt anything. _God- I am doomed._

My mind is racing as I try to figure out what to do, but, suddenly. A vase the stood by the entryway smashed into Jane.

"You are going to pay for that, you meddlesome nuisance!" Jane screamed, but before she could hurt me, Aro stopped her.

"Jane, dear one, you are no match for her now." Aro said calmly. What?! Did I throw the vase?! I couldn't have!

I started to back away slowly towards the other hole Timothy had gone through.

"Caius, can't you see? It would be such a waste to kill her. We do not want her to have the same fate as her mother. Sicilia did not have anyone to help her, but her daughter does! We can train her to control herself. She has a better disposition!" Aro turned to Caius. Jane was blazing, but she didn't dare turn her back on her master.

"Marcus is dying, and you want to help our enemy!" Caius screeched.

Aro glided towards me- I continued to back away. "My dear, sweet, child, must you be afraid? If you agree to help us, and follow our rules, we can help you do so much more. You can become powerful. You can achieve greatness." Aro proposed.

"And if I do? What will I have but power? I will not have friends, but enemies- I already have so much. Will Timothy die because of the serious crime he has committed? Are you lying to me? How can I be sure of you?" My voice was stronger than I felt.

"Aro! We must kill her before she discovers what she can do!" Caius was paler than ever. His teeth were clenched.

Aro ignore Caius all together. "Timothy will live if Marcus survives, but he can only survive if you heal him. And, you, why would I lie to you? I have been nothing but a father to you."

I stood motionlessly over the debris, and I was suddenly conscious that I was still in my "pajamas".

"Come, you must heal Marcus." Aro put his arm around my shoulder and led me through a door- a door that led to the same room that the hole did.

Marcus and Timothy were hissing furiously at each other, but Timothy didn't have one scratch on him. Marcus, on the other hand, was torn to bits. I felt sorry for Marcus, he had never been totally against me, but he never really, truly liked me.

_GAH!_ Why was I being so, so… I struggled for the right word, but it never came.

Struggling, searching for an answer with my chaotic mind was like searching for a needle in a haystack, and on top of that, I was wild with thirst. I could bet my existence that, were a human to pass by this house right now, I would lose control and kill it.

But, I didn't have time to hunting right now. I was placed in a very dangerous situation- it wasn't the time to be thinking irrationally. And, it was definitely not the time to be worrying about silly things like my well being.

"Timothy, we can't we just work this out rationally? We do not have to do it violently." I tried to persuade him to calm down as I slowly walked toward him.

"No!" He hissed. "I am done with these mongrels!"

"Please," I said, reaching out for his shoulder- I lowered my voice into an inaudible whisper. Only Timothy would be able to hear what I was saying. "They will destroy us if we do not obey them. It's a join or die situation here. Please, I'm sure it won't be that bad…" I rubbed his shoulder and leaned in to whisper into his ear. "…especially if you are with me. I don't know you that well, but I want to. I feel as if I know, or possibly _love_ you already." I grinned- he returned it with a smile.

I took that as a 'yes', so I turned to heal Marcus.

I settled on putting both of my hands on his chest and letting him heal himself. His body immediately responded- every cut healed- every part of him was reassembled.

"I have complied to your every wish. What are your other conditions?" I felt suddenly more mature as I turned to face my enemy allies.

"Amazing," Aro murmured. "Simply amazing."

Jane snorted and crossed her arms- I flashed her a brilliant, fake smile- but soon regretted it. Jane's eyes were blazing with fury again.

"Amelia, Timothy, as long as you do not disobey us anymore, we will not destroy you. Timothy, you will continue to serve us, and Amelia- you will be trained by Timothy through my instruction. I do not trust anyone but you, Timothy to do this. Teach her to become just as stealthy as you are, if not even more so. _I_ will teach you to use your ability. I now realize that you are more like your mother than I could have ever thought possible. You have so much potential!" Aro exclaimed. "I haven't seen so much since we found Jane and Alec!"

Jane's eyes sparkled at the comparison.

"Come now," He motioned for us to follow him. "Let's go home."

Timothy wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me along with him. His touch sent a tingle up my side- it was amazing how he affected my emotions. How could I love someone in only a matter of hours? It seemed impossible. I would _never_ criticize Romeo and Juliet again.

"No, I don't really feel that way." I said as I sat on the familiar couch in my "room". It hadn't taken long to get to Volterra. (Especially since I had Timothy to piggy-back on.) The journey was a quiet one. Timothy had said very little, and I couldn't blame him. The wind had whipped around our bodies so quickly that his voice would have been lost in the wind.

Timothy had been questioning my diet. He said that after he had fed, he felt guilty about taking human life. I felt differently.

"How? Doesn't it bother you that you are killing something that has a life? Something that had hopes and dreams? Something that might have had a family?" He disagreed in a fairly gentle tone- his voice never failed to shock even me.

"Okay, imagine that you are in Africa. You see a lion pride take down a zebra. Do you feel bad for the zebra?" I said- looking into his red eyes.

"Not really. It's just one zebra, and the lions needed it to survive." He didn't say what I thought he was going to say. I expected him to say that he felt sorry for the zebra, but then I realized that I was talking to someone who I could relate to- someone who wasn't stuck up and stupid.

"Exactly! The same is with us and the humans! Predator and prey! We don't exactly _need_ them to survive, but we need them to stay healthy and strong. If it wasn't for the lions, than the zebra population would explode. The same is with the humans. Their species can multiply faster than our kind. We fight so much that we end up killing each other. Plus, haven't you ever heard of werewolves? They can take a vampire down just as easily as any other one of us vampire's could. So, we need to keep the humans in check. That's why I don't feel bad about killing them- they deserve their fate." I explained enthusiastically.

"Hm, I've never thought about it that way…" His face was expressionless, where as mine was full of excitement because he seemed to have accepted my theory.

I danced over to him to sit in his lap. He gently stroked my hair.

"You are so strange." He shook his head while he began to play with a strand of my hair. "Even your hair feels… well… odd. I guess that's the right way to put it."

"Really? Even my hair? I thought that it was just my personality." I pursed my lips.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me after a few minutes.

"Nothing really- just life itself." I began to stare off into space- not really sure what to think about.

"You know, I think I ought to tell you the truth about something." He said randomly; our voices were no more than whispers.

"I'm listening." I twisted around to see his face. It was deliberating.

"Do you know why the Volturi value me? Specifically Aro?" He asked looking into my eyes. A surge of warmth ran through me- I shuttered as all my thoughts began to circle around him. I scanned over his face, now taking in every detail of it.

He laughed a gentle sound and ran his finger tips along my jaw.

I smiled back at him. _Yes! _Maybe he would kiss me! I so badly needed something like that. Or was I just being greedy?

"Well, I guess that I can control… _women's_ emotions… maybe not all of their feelings, but there is a certain one that I'm especially good at." He grinned- showing his demonic teeth again.

"What do you mean?" I was honestly confused.

He groaned- still keeping his face in a serene mask- showing not even a flicker of frustration. "I can make them fall for me… I guess that's the right word to use. Forgive me if I'm a little outdated."

I was silent for a moment- then glowered at him. "Were you using it on me? Is this just a joke?" I jumped from his lap.

I thought I saw a shatter of shock rearrange his features, but that was impossible. He just smiled at me.

I crossed my arms stubbornly. "Well?"

"I was beginning to think that you were one exception to my powers- until yesterday." He got up gracefully from the couch and held my face between his cold hands. I kept my expression in a fierce scowl and my arms crossed. "Amelia," He breathed. I fought against his charm. "I really meant what I said before, in Florence. You're different than any other girl I've met. Do I have to explain this anymore thoroughly? You actually use your brain. You enjoy being starved of power- I can see it in your eyes. All you want is a man who will care for you and comfort you always. I can be that. And, you know what?"

I was falling for it again. I pressed my lips together so I wouldn't be tempted to spit in his face.

"Oh, please. You're being unnecessarily difficult. I was just going to say that I hadn't used my power since then. So, you can relax." He consoled.

"Hardly." I muttered.

"Hey," He his hands moved down to my shoulders. "Do you think I'm using you?"

"Yes. I think that you don't care about me. So, you can forget ever-," His cool lips pressed against mine.

I kept fighting against his strength. This kiss was different from Felix's. I didn't _want_ to push him away- I enjoyed it- but I had to put my foot down on this.

"Timothy, give me a chance to breathe." I gently pushed him off.

His musical laugh surrounded me. "You need to breathe?"

"Technically, no, but it helps to have a sense of smell." I countered.

He continued to laugh.

I spun around, walking out of the room. I kept my arms fold and I kept scowling.

Timothy was in front of me- smiling again. Hmph. He was having fun.

I tried to walk around him, but when I was next to him, preparing to walk around, he stretched his arm out and grabbed my shoulder. He twisted me back in front of him.

He put his hand on my chin forcing me to look in his eyes. The liquid red swirled as he stared at me.

The same warm sensation began to flow around inside me.

"_Now_," He breathed- his breath fanned across my face.. "Now, I'm using it."

"Oh," I spoke, in an almost human voice. All the beauty of my vampiric voice had left it.

"So, you see, you loved me even when I wasn't using it on you." His hand left my chin and the tips of his fingers ran across my lower lip.

"Promise me you'll never do it again." I ran my hands through his tousled hair.

"If I don't?" He leaned in to kiss my collarbone. I push his lips away with two fingers.

"You'll never be able to kiss or touch me ever again. You might never see me again… no, that's not possible. But, still." I warned.

"Alright, then. I promise." He rubbed my cheek with the back of his hand.


	11. The End

"C'mon! You can do so much better than that! You're so weak!" Timothy yelled in my face.

"You're too fast!" I whined.

"I don't want to hear that! Try again! I know you have it in you! C'mon!" He urged.

"Argh!" I pressed my fists against my temples and closed my eyes. "It's useless! Even if I could get my hands on you, I wouldn't be able to hurt you because of my stupid healing ability! DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!"

"Shush, love. That is why Aro is here. You can turn your healing powers off, so, just concentrate on your fighting skills right now." Timothy patted my back as I started to dry sob.

"Hmph. Well, you are even more human than I gave you credit for…" He said thoughtfully.

"Alright, then. Let's get this over with." I groaned.

There was a low growl that came from deep within Timothy's chest. "That is not the right attitude to have for this. You should be more willing to learn. It will be impossible if you aren't."

I sighed heavily. "Okay, I will try to be more happy about this."

"I like you so much better when you aren't stubborn." He chuckled, and I couldn't help but laugh with him.

He hissed as he started training me again on the desert beach. We were miles away from any civilization, but still in Italy. The ocean roared and slammed in the cliffs that we stood on. Besides the ocean, there was a vast scrubland. Bushes and rocks were scattered along the ground with the occasional snake or two. There wasn't much wildlife here. It reminded me of a desert.

"Attack cautiously but quickly. Catch your opponent off guard. Dodge and attack, dodge and attack- but never let yourself within reach of their teeth." He instructed, but that didn't help. I could barely get out of the way quick enough. He was too fast. I wondered how you could be trained to be that fast. Was it something that could be taught?

"How do you go that fast?" I said stopping.

"Easy. You use all of your limbs on turns and run. Notice how almost every two legged creature is slow. Four legged animals are so much faster." He grinned. "When you want to make sharp turns, do this. I'll go slower so you can see me." He grinned and took off. A cloud of dirt flew up in my face.

I watched as he made a very sharp turn. He hadn't even slowed as his left hand propped his body up. He spun himself around it. It was so much faster than having to slow down and turn even less sharply. I was in awe.

He was standing only feet in front of me in the next second. Another cloud of dirt flew at me.

"Wow." I said, brushing the dirt out of my hair. I had to take it out of a pony tail to do so. I shook my head furiously letting the little grains of sand and rock fall to the ground. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Pathetic human." He teased.

"Now how do you actually _run_ that fast?" I asked putting my hair up. (I was also brushing my jeans and light blue cotton shirt off. My Converses were fine.)

"It's kind of tricky. Sort of magical I guess..." He thought about how to explain it.

"First off, you have to concentrate very hard. Imagine yourself running- closing your eyes helps- but make sure you are actually working to move you legs. Most vampires think that when they run, it should come easily. They overlook the fact that they can go even _faster_. The only draw back to this is that it takes a toll on your energy. The same is with your arm strength. Concentrate, and you'll be even stronger." He grinned.

"Concentrate." I thought out loud. I imagined my surroundings. Then, I imagined myself running along them. I took off running and pressed myself even harder. I could now feel my legs moving- muscles expanding and contracting with each step I took. The wind ripped into my face.

I opened my eyes and felt exhilarated. I was going even faster than before. I had trouble seeing everything. I barely ran into a shrub.

"Close your eyes!" Timothy yelled from beside me. He had his eyes open, but probably only because he'd doing this more.

"I can't concentrate anymore!" I yelled back and came to a stop. The stop flew me into the air like a bottle rocket, but I landed gracefully on the dirt.

"Regardless," Timothy was behind me. I was still recovering from the amazing experience. "You did exceptionally well. Not many vampires are able to accomplish this so quickly. I did, so, you might be my only threat. I might have to destroy you before you decide to turn on me." He whispered playfully in my ear before kissing my neck.

"How can you do that in battle?" I asked.

Timothy ignored me and kept kissing my neck, my chin, and my cheek. He wrapped his arms around my waist and slowly pulled me closer to him.

"Isn't this supposed to be a lesson? I don't think-," I started but Timothy cut me off.

"He… won't know…" He said between kisses.

I closed my eyes and let him kiss me.

After awhile he grabbed my chin and twisted my head around.

He kissed me gently on the lips.

"You're very selfish you know- using me this way." I said when he was finished. I was only kidding, but he thought I was being serious- I loved it when he kissed me. It let me escape reality. And, being in his arms made me feel secure. I loved him more than anything else.

"Not again." He groaned and layed his head on my shoulder.

"I was only kidding this time."

"_This time?_" He pulled away from me.

"Now look who's being stubborn?" I turned around with a smirk.

"You know what? I think your right. I think this needs to be only a lesson." He crouched down and bared his teeth. "Close your eyes this time as well. Imagine your environment, and don't forget to use your muscles."

"How do I know where you are?" I asked puzzled.

"Use your brain, Amelia!" Timothy groaned still in the crouching position. He hissed and sprang for me.

I closed my eyes quickly and imagined him as he sprang. I knew he would be super fast, so I moved out of the way quickly. There was a light scratching noise as he landed on the ground next to me.

He sprang again and I understood that you had to use your hearing. I continued to dodge him. He began to growl louder and louder in frustration. He also growled as he sprang, so I knew where he was when he actually sprang.

"Excellent!" Timothy exclaimed. I couldn't hear anything else but the waves of the sea, so I opened my eyes.

"I thought it would take weeks to train you! I shouldn't have underestimated." He approved. "Now, we'll concentrate on attacking. This is the most difficult thing to do.

"Obviously, you do not close your eyes when attacking unless you are very, very, experienced. It's dangerous to do so. Your opponent could attack on you and you wouldn't know- unless it was a frustrated newborn; they tend to hiss a lot. You also have to close your eyes to dodge their attacks. But, when you actually attack, you should attack so fast that they don't have time to react. That is when you can close your eyes. Then you can do anything you want to them- simply push them, break their neck, bite them, and ultimately killing them. I always carry around a lighter. Don't ever forget to burn the pieces. Otherwise, they will pull themselves back together. Got it?"

"Yeah, I think so." I nodded.

"I'll just dodge this time." He stood motionless, but unlike me, he didn't have to close his eyes.

I crouched down, closed my eyes, and sprang for him.

SMACK! I hit him directly in the chest, but I hadn't expected it. I over-estimated his movement. Timothy's cold arms caught my shoulders as I opened my eyes.

His musical laughter filed the air. "Amelia…"

I wriggled out of his grip and joined him. "Sorry,"

"No, don't be. I'm extremely proud of you. No one, _ever_, has been able to touch me when I fight."

I was silent for a moment. Obviously, I was proud of myself, but I was being very self-centered lately. I wasn't going to brag about this. And, besides, I didn't want to ruin Timothy's ego.

"Let's go back now." He sighed.

"Awww…" I pouted.

"I'll race you." He grinned.

"That's not fair. We both know you'll win." I groaned.

He took off, but I closed my eyes and followed him.

Soon, enough, I could hear him laughing from beside me. "You caught up!"

"So?" I chuckled- glad that I was almost as fast as he was.

"Too bad I'm still faster." I heard the dirt beside me fly up. He was going even _faster_ than he was before.

I pressed on. I tried so hard to go even faster. It took me awhile, but I heard the sound of dirt flying up from beside me again. I couldn't help but try to run with my eyes open again.

I opened them slowly; I made my mind work faster so I could absorb the entire environment. I took a sideways glance. Timothy was looking at me- at my legs. He scowled and stopped- unlike me, he could stop with out flying 30 feet in the air.

I kept running, I doubt that I could go this fast ever again.

Timothy sped past me, but I couldn't go any faster. He looked amazing. It was like he had no legs at all he was going so fast.

"Slow down! Both of us know who will win!" I yelled after him, and yet I tried pushing myself faster- I couldn't do it.

Soon, Timothy came into my view. My mouth dropped open.

He was running backwards.

"You're insane!" I laughed.

"You think so?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, I do!"

"Do you hear that?" I hissed into Timothy's ear. There was a small squeaking noise coming from a gutter. It wasn't really a squeaking noise, maybe more of a meowing.

"Yeah, so?" Timothy was more concerned with the fact that we were walking so slow through Volterra. It had started out as a race, but going that fast had taken a toll on my energy. Timothy, on the other hand, was unphased by the speed.

"It sounds like…" I pulled the grill up and hopped down it. I flew down about three stories before I finally hit the bottom. I quickly followed the faint sound until I reached the source.

"Awww… you poor thing…" I picked up a little gray kitten and stroked its fur- it's matted muck covered fur. The poor thing must be cold, and I wasn't helping it. "I'm sorry I'm not warm, but don't you worry…" I held it close to my body.

"Amelia! You idiot!" Timothy was yelling at me from above. His voice echoed. "How do you plan to get back up with a little rat in your hands?"

"Timothy! I'm shocked! How could a vampire like you mistake a rat for a little kitten?" I teased, but I knew he had a point. How was I going to get back up? I should have thought about that before I jumped down.

"Oh, please." He groaned.

I deliberated for a moment. "Could I jump?"

"You could try."

"Hang on, little one." I kissed it on the head, and closed my eyes. Then, I pushed off with as much force as I could.

Air ripped past me. I soon as I felt I was high enough, I opened my eyes.

"Oops." I muttered. Not only had I flew past the highest building in Volterra, I had flown about 100 feet over it. Now, I was falling rapidly back down. Timothy was a tiny speck that was about to rip all the hair out of his head.

"I'm so dead!" I shrieked.

I curled into a ball with the kitten shivering inside it.

"Shit," Timothy muttered- his voice now surprisingly close. Cold arms wrapped around me and a rock slide followed. I'd fallen down with so much force that I'd knocked Timothy over and crushed the brick pavement.

"You're a magnet for trouble." Timothy growled.

"Sorry. I guess I don't know my own strength." I uncurled myself and continued to hold the kitten; luckily, it survived thanks to my healing powers.

"Clean this up!" He ordered.

"How?" I whispered.

"Put the bricks back where they were!" He snapped.

"Fine, but will you take care of Lucy first?" I held out the kitten.

"You named it already?" He snarled.

"No, I'm just kidding, but will you hold her? And, try _not_ to kill her?" I warned.

"Fine." He groaned and took the kitten from me.

I quickly replaced the bricks in seconds and yanked the kitten from him.

"You're not going to keep it, are you?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"I might- if Aro will let me." I smiled stroking the kitten's fur.

"I don't know how I put up with you…" I muttered.

"Let's go, baby." I kissed the kitten on the head again.

"Okay," Timothy chuckled.

"I wasn't talking to you," I continued to pet the kitten.

"Ewww… look at it." Christina poked the kitten. "It's disgusting."

"Nonsense! I'm going to give it a warm bath and feed it." I sat it down gently on the couch. It purred and curled up next to a pillow.

"Feed it what? Our leftovers?" She chuckled.

"No, it needs milk. I'm going to go shopping. Do you know where any pet stores are?" I asked her as I sat next to the kitten.

"What's this I am hearing about an animal?" Aro, Caius, and Marcus glided into my room followed by many of their guards.

I picked up the kitten and held it close to me.

"She saved it. She wants to keep it." Christina spat.

"A cat?" Caius snapped.

"Yes." I whispered- afraid for the kitten's life.

"You can't keep it." Caius took a step forward.

I hissed- holding the kitten even closer.

"I wonder…" Aro said thoughtfully. "I wonder if we can experiment with it. You know, see if we can have a new addition to our family."

"Like, turn it into a vampire?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes." He answered simply.

"Preposterous." Caius snorted.

Aro sighed. "Alright- I guess we'll have to destroy it."

"No!" I screamed. The painting on the opposite wall fell to the floor and smashed into millions of pieces. "I'll protect it with my life! What has it done to you? There are no rules against vampires having pets!"

"We have a reputation to protect. Do you think others will fear us if they find out we are housing a cat?" Marcus sneered.

"No!" I screamed again, and this time, the chandelier crashed onto the piano.

"Calm down." Timothy put his hand on my shoulder.

The same warm sensation spread throughout my body.

"You promised!" I hissed in his face. The sensation came to an abrupt halt.

The piano was now shaking as I got angrier.

"She'll kill us all if she does not calm down!" One of the guards screeched.

"The cat must be dealt with!" Caius yelled.

"NO!" I stood up and the piano flew towards Caius.

Timothy was in front of Caius in a split second holding the piano back. The rest of the guards quickly joined him.

Timothy was protecting Caius. My anger was boiling over. I tried to calm myself. If I didn't, the piano would crush Timothy.

He soon let go of his grip on the piano. It was stuck in one place now.

"We will start your training now, and, I am so terribly sorry about this, but the kitten has to go." Aro's voice was strangely stern.

I slowly handed over the kitten. I looked deep into its eyes, and they were afraid. It was as if it knew what was going to happen to it. It howled as Aro, Caius, and Marcus took it away.

I stared after them in horror. The poor kitten- it never had a chance.

"It was just a cat. Sheesh." Christina said dryly.

"I know. It was just a cat." I looked down and it felt like the end of everything, like time had stopped and I had fallen into a dark hole. I would have to begin non-stop training for something I had no knowledge on. An innocent creature died because of me. I was going to be stuck in this torture house for years to come. I would serve the Volturi- accompany them. Kill the guilty vampires who disobeyed them. And exist under watchful eyes. And just exist. Who knew that the death of a small kitten would send me into a spiral of despair?


	12. Waking Up

A loud snap makes me pull my head out of the dark water.

It's ninety-six years later- Timothy has just died.

I fell to the ground, not in tears because I can't cry, but in sorrow. On come the dry sobs.

_You must avenge him, Amelia!_ The monster inside my head screamed. And, as usual, I let my instinct control my every action.

I lifted the 12 ton semi off the ground hurled it at Gerald. Gerald was one of the Volturi's old assassins who'd quit and had started to cause trouble. Timothy and I had been sent to destroy him.

Gerald steathlily dodged it.

"I don't want you to have the same fate as Timothy, Ami." He called me by my nick-name because, to tell the truth, we used to be friends. "You're my friend."

_He lies! _It screamed again.

"You lie!" I hissed.

"How could you ever think of such a thing? _They_ are the liars!" I couldn't fully concentrate on his quick movements as I tried to get a fair shot at him, and I'd been in quarantine for ninety-six years so I wasn't used to thinking. Gerald noticed. "Why can't you see that? Use your brain!"

I shook my head in frustration. I couldn't grasp that Timothy had actually died, and that I was about to, as well.

"I'll spare your life," I tried to make an agreement with Gerald. "If you will… spare mine."

He came to a sudden stop, and so did I. I stared back at him innocently with my red eyes glowing in the dim light of the abandoned garage.

"Ami, you're not one to change your mind so quickly." Gerald remained still and tense.

"You don't know me that well." My expression lifted into a small smile.

"That's true, but you have always been dedicated to Aro. I never thought I'd see the day when you turned on him. And, I just killed your mate; you hate me." He reasoned.

Everything he said didn't register in my mind, but Timothy's death hadn't registered either. As for Aro, that man could disappear from the face of the earth and I wouldn't care. No one but Timothy and I had known about the deal I'd made with Aro years ago, but I couldn't even remember anything.

"Not necessarily," I grinned. A new plan had popped into my head. If Timothy had died, I had the body- so we could burn it, leaving only the arm, and my necklace Aro had given me. They would assume that I had died along with him. It was brilliant, flawless.

"Excuse me for one second." Gerald went over to Timothy's almost lifeless body and ripped it, literally, into shreds then quickly lit it into a foul smelling fire.

This time, I flinched and glared at him. Timothy was truly gone now.

Anger burned inside my chest, it was the first emotion I'd had in a while. Timothy, the man I'd loved for almost a century, had disappeared for good.

"Not necessarily, huh?" Gerald was asking for it now, but acting rashly would get me nowhere.

My teeth snapped together in frustration. "You're impossible!" And with that, I tore off my necklace, threw it into the blaze and sped off to somewhere away from here.

Everything was peaceful. There wasn't a creature stirring in the dead night. I took in a deep breath and inhaled the sweet scent of the firs. _I could stay here. I could live here._

Yes. I definitely would. As soon as the sun rose and was instantly fought off by the large clouds, I would set off to the nearest city and buy a relatively large house, deep within the glorious wilderness of Oregon. There, I could enroll in high school, get a job, and hope for a future in college, just like any normal human girl would.

But, of course, I'd have to work on my self control, and maybe start working on letting go of some painful memories.

Brilliant, everything was perfect.

_No it's not. _The monster, now in a very annoyed tone, mocked. Oh, so now it was a voice in my head. Why hadn't I noticed the complete drop in my sanity before?

Still, I listened to the voice and looked over my plan.

"Oh," I sighed out loud, breaking the serenity.

First, I could enroll in high school because I had no parents. Second, I had no money. Third, who would hire me?

"Frustrated are we?" An all too familiar voice said quietly but smugly.

"Long time no see." I smiled.


	13. Old Friends

I was surprised that I didn't jump up and squeeze Damien. (I must have really changed.)

But, Damien hadn't changed a bit. His hair was the same dark brown and his soft, sweet smile was the same. I wondered: I wonder what he'll think of me?

"No kidding." He snickered.

"So, what have you been up to all these years?" I asked.

"Well, when Xavier came back with out you, at first I thought he was joking. You'd been in such an optimistic mood before, and it'd seemed highly impossible that you'd run away… again." -I rolled my eyes- "And I was right, to a certain extent. He said you'd vanished too fast to have run away. He theorized that it was one of the Volturi's assassins- if you've ever met one of them, you'd know that they're incredibly fast-,"

I interrupted him, "You mean, _this_ fast?", and ran across the lake in two seconds flat. My feet barely touch the water. I sped back as soon as my foot had touched the grass on the other side.

Damien's face held a look of undisguised surprise. His eyebrows were raised.

Then, it quickly turned to suspicion. "You're not one of them, are you?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" I snapped, perhaps, a little too sharply.

"No- as long as they're not with you. Wait, you're not here to kill me, are you?" He took a step back, immediately tensing.

I chuckled at his assumption. "I'm alone, and, no, of course I'm not here to kill you."

"Thank god," He put one hand over his chest and breathed out a sigh of relief.

I laughed quietly. "So, you were describing the Volturi's assassins…" I began for him.

"Oh, yeah. Well, after that, Xavier took us to the hospital and picked up your scent- along with another one we couldn't recognize, but Xavier thought he'd smelt it before, and that pointed towards the Volturi. By the way, who was it?" Damien's eyes burned with curiosity. "Did you know him, or her?"

I winced. "Yes, I did know him. His name was Timothy."

"His name _was_ Timothy?" I knew I wasn't going to get away with that one.

"It's a long story. A _very_ long story, and plus, you haven't finished yours." I reminded him.

"Mine's long too, so how about I take you to Xavier and I tell you the rest along the way- only if you promise to share yours." He warned.

"Oh, so now there's conditions?" I grinned. Damien rolled his eyes and started walking into the trees. I guessed that he didn't normally travel this slowly; it was only because he wanted time to tell me his life story for the past ninety-six years.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. He didn't say anything as he led me through the thick undergrowth, and despite my nagging curiosity, I kept quiet.

Damien took a quick glance in my direction and instantly read my expression. He smirked.

"Are we there yet?" I complained.

"Almost- and, wow, you're starting to act like your old self again." Damien commented.

Too surprised by his remark to say anything, I continued on in a quiet, thoughtful trance.

Had I really acted like this before? This almost human-like creature? How immature had I been?

I tried to think back to my "younger" days. When I was a newly created vampire.

So, I'd jumped in a pool with an extremely expensive gown on, drenching Heidi completely, (that _was _a little unorthodox, but Heidi deserved it) I'd complained, hadn't really cared about anyone's feelings but my own, ran away, flirted way too much, I'd killed someone, went into a coma because of a kitten, trusted a back stabbing liar by the name of Aro, and was a stuck up snobby- as Christina would say- bitch.

I had been horrible! How had anyone forgiven me, or, had they just pretended to?

Damien stopped and looked back at me with concerned eyes that glowed in the moonlight. "Are you okay? We've been walking for half an hour and you haven't said anything."

My lips trembled. "Oh, I'm so sorry Damien! I was so stupid back then! Can you please forgive and stop pretending like you have?"

Damien took a step towards me and hesitated. "You're going insane, Amelia." His serious expression changed into a teasing one.

I glared at Damien, but secretly, I wanted to thank him.

His smile disappeared. "This isn't a conversation I wish to have with you."

_He's not worth your time. Just take off and forget he ever exists. You should be hunting Gerald. Kill him before he tells Aro you're still alive! _ The monster howled, sounding just as cruel as ever. It took all I had to ignore it.

"Why?" I asked.

He sighed, then started walking away again. "Come on, Amelia." He called.

Reluctantly, I followed.

When we started to reach our destination, Damien slowed and started to whisper silently to me. "Don't be alarmed if Nathaniel's here. He promised to be nice to you. And, of course Xavier had to come along."

"Nathaniel?"

"Oh, c'mon. You can't tell me that you don't remember Nathaniel?"

"Sorry, I don't." I murmured.

"Now I see there's a lot of stuff that you don't know. There's no need for any more clarification on that." Damien looked frustrated.

"Let's just go." I whined impatiently.

"Alright." Damien led the way out of the forest and onto the highway that ran through it. And, parked alongside the road was a beautiful Ford Mustang Shelby Cobra. I almost fainted at the sight. 550-horsepower and powered through the rear wheels by a Tremac TR6060 six-speed manual transmission. I was in heaven.

"Do you like it?" Damien asked.

"Yes." I said quietly as I stared at it.

"Ami!" A handsome boy climbed out of the car and ran over to me, taking me in his arms and kissing me gently on the cheek.

"I thought you said you that last time you saw her you'd knocked her out. You're lucky she doesn't remember you." Damien muttered darkly.

"Amelia, my beautiful daughter has finally come home!" Xavier snatched me out of the boy's arms and took me in his own.

"Whoa-put me down!" I thrashed in his grip. I wasn't enjoying being passed around like a baby doll. I pushed against his chest and thrusted myself backwards.

_You blew your cover! _The monster screeched.

_What cover?_ I snapped silently back at it.

And then I saw my mistake.

Timothy had always taught me to use every inch of power I had, and in doing that, I had more strength than the average vampire. Xavier had never been exposed to such power, so when I'd pushed against him, trying to escape his grasp, I'd accidentally caused him to fly about 120 feet into the woods. A tree shook with the blow as Xavier crashed into it.

"Dad!" I ran into the darklit forest searching for him.

"What was that for?" Xavier emerged from behind a tall fir tree.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot that- um... nevermind." I didn't know how much information I should give out.

"You just forgot what?" Xavier's anger was faltered by curiosity.

"She's a Volturi assassin." Damien spared me; I flashed him a grateful glance.

"Oh, is that right?" Xavier looked skeptical.

"Yep." I answered simply.

"You're not here to kill me, are you?" Xavier echoed Damien's words.

"No, the Volturi think I'm dead, but they won't for long. Gerald willl probably tell them where I have gone..." The image of Gerald snapping Timothy's neck in half flashed across my eyes. My vision was blurred with the painful memory. Why hadn't I saved him?

"She's just as messed up as before." Damien muttered to Xavier.

I shot a death glare at him. Damien looked away, unabled to hold my piercing gaze.

"Do you have something you'd like to share with me, Amelia?" Xavier's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, but Damien promised he'd tell me what he's been up to first." I replied.

"Alright then. Let's get back to the car." Xavier ran off towards the highway. Damien and I stayed behind and had a silent arguement. He stared at me with a smug smile and I glared at him.

"Are you two coming or not?" Xavier called.

"Yeah, we'll be there in a second!" Damien yelled back.

"There's much to discuss, and I don't want to waste time. So, quit dawdling!" Xavier commanded, shoving Damien and I into the back seat of the car. Nathaniel had frown on his face as he stared out the side window of the passenger seat.

As soon as Xavier had made sure we were all in the car, he jumped over it and climbed into the driver's seat. He quickly started the car and accelerated to only 60 miles per hour to give the engine time to warm up, I guessed. It _was_ cold outside, and I had no idea how long they'd been looking for me.

I looked over at Nathaniel again. His expression hadn't changed.

"Is he always like this?" I whispered to Damien, who was strangely smug.

"Yes, I was actually surprised when he greeted you the way he did." Damien answered.

"Why?"

"Well, he's always been in a bad mood, ever since-,"

"What are you two whispering about back there?" Xavier snapped.

"I was asking about the car. Just asking a few questions." I lied.

"Yeah, right. Anyway, like I said earlier, we have much to discuss. Amelia, you tell us what you've been up to with the Volturi." Xavier's eyes left the road and stared at me with interest. Even Nathaniel's frown left his face and he glanced at me.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not saying anything until Damien tells me what trouble you've been causing lately- he promised." I looked expectantly at Damien. He scowled.

"Is that so? Well, Damien, get on with it." Xavier turned his eyes back to the road just in time to notice a deer that was standing, blinded by the bright lights in the middle of the highway. He swerved carefully to avoid it, not turning so hard he went off the road, but gently guiding the car so that it narrowly missed the deer. He had driven at a constant speed throughout this, and after, changed back to the correct lane.

I sat, wide-eyed with fear at first, and then stunned by his control. Nathaniel and Damien seemed to be unmoved by this event, so I shut my mouth and slumped into the leather seat.

"Now, please?" Nathaniel broke the tense silence and glared at Damien.

"Of course." Damien said calmly, ignoring Nathaniel's hatred. "So, after you were 'kidnapped', Xavier decided there was nothing we could do. He said that, if you had been kidnapped by the Volturi, we were hopelessly out-numbered, and that we couldn't risk losing anyone. I had no idea what he meant by that. Xavier, could you explain?"

"At that time, we were a target, Damien. If you weren't so lazy, you might have noticed." Nathaniel hissed.

Xavier ignored Nathaniel. "The Volturi knew we had you. And, I was sure that Aro hadn't left Volterra. So, he could still give the order to come and destroy us. After that decision was made, we came home."

Nathaniel added, "I guessed that you had made some kind of agreement with the Volturi, or that you were… dead, because for all these years, we never saw anything of the Volturi."

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Liar." I taunted.

"I'm serious."

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am." He insisted.

I glared at Damien.

Nathaniel made a small chuckle. "You two are pathetic- acting like humans!"

Xavier sighed heavily, and the car sped up to 120 miles per hour. Everything was quiet from then on. The road seemed to stretch on forever through the wilderness. Up and down massive hills, until I realized the trees were starting to glitter with snow as the sun came up.

"Yuck." Nathaniel muttered. Apparently, he didn't like snow- but I saw and opportunity waiting for me as soon as we reached our destination.

"Where are we?" I leaned over the armrest of the front seat.

"We just entered Alaska." Xavier said coolly.

"Where are we headed?"

"No where." He answered simply.

"Hm?"

"Mount McKinley." I turned to see Nathaniel peering up at the sky.

"Oh." I crossed my arms and put them under my chin.

"Sit properly, Amelia- or do you like it when Damien stares at your rear-end?" Xavier said crossly.

"What?" Damien roared, shocked by the accusation.

"I saw you. Amelia, sit correctly." Xavier was so blunt, but I followed his command and sat back next to Damien, who had his lips pressed together in embarrassment.

I looked away from him, a little ashamed of my father and his subtle attitude. What had caused this? He used to be more fun to be around.

Instead of worrying, I contented myself with the landscape. I couldn't see the things that were close to the car, but I could see the cold Bering Strait to the west, and the large mountains to the east. The sun was rising over the mountains, making the snow not white, but many different colors. The fir trees shone brightly, almost blinding me.

"Savor it. It will all be gone in a matter of minutes." Nathaniel advised. I nodded.

A little bit of rock jutted out from the snow that capped the mountains. It was so beautiful.

Xavier abruptly turned off the highway and started to drive along an ice covered country road. He slowed down, trying to avert a disaster.

"Where are we going?" Nathaniel asked, masking the shock in his voice.

"Didn't I tell you? We moved back home."

The road curved sharply into the forest below the mountains. We drove through the woods. I thought I saw a bear in the looming darkness.

It seemed like hours until I saw huge house that overlooked an enormous lake. And somehow, the house seemed familiar.

I must have looked confused, because Damien and Xavier were smiling, but Nathaniel was scowling even more than usual.

Xavier drove off the road and the Mustang rolled onto the snow; it crunched beneath the wheels.

I was dying. I had to see what was in the house. I had to find out why it looked so familiar.

I jumped out of the car as soon as it had stopped. I stood in front of the house, scanning every bit of it. Why did it look so familiar? I was so frustrated. It was like when you heard a famous line, but you couldn't quite figure out what movie it was from.

I stomped up the front porch.

Snow crunched behind me. I skipped over the stairs to question Damien- I knew it was him.

"_What_ is going on here- is this some kind of trick?" I screamed.

"No, and hi," Said the cheery voice of a girl with strawberry-blond hair that ran down to her waist and clothing that hinted designer origin. She had a beautiful face, and, she too looked strangely the familiar. "How are you, Ami?"

I took a deep breath. "Who are you, again?"

"Danielle- don't you recognize me?" She looked confused, but then she ran her eyes down my body. "Ew. You've gone back to your horrible sense of style."

"Danielle." Nathaniel came up to stand beside me. He put his hand around my waist. (Great, I thought that I'd be okay with Damien now that Timothy was gone.) I cringed as I saw Timothy's body engulfed in flames.

"You two are still close, I see." Danielle observed.

Damien snarled as he stalked past us and into the house.

Realizing the tension that hovering in the air, I pried myself from Nathaniel and went into the house to finish my exploration.

Inside was a huge entry way with the giant wooden doors I'd walked through. A piano and a few chairs sat adjacent to the door on the far left, where as another huge window with cream-colored silk curtains hung between the door and the piano. Another big window sat on the right, followed by an arch. The arch led into a checkered floored kitchen. A magnificent chandelier hung above the room. Huge bookcases lined the walls below the two curved staircases that led to a landing. The wood floor was covered in the center by a lavish rug. In the center of the bookcases, was another set of giant doors.

Another wave of recognition hit me like a baseball bat, but still, I couldn't quite put my finger on why I remembered this house so strongly.

"Does anything, 'ring a bell'?" Xavier inquired, as he walked through the kitchen archway.

"It looks familiar, but…" I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't describe it.

"You used to live here."

"No, I never lived here. At least, I don't remember it." I was thoroughly confused.

"Can't you remember this little bit of your past life- as a human? Can you even remember your mother?"

"Yes, I remember her; but, I don't remember her being here." I searched the room with my eyes.

Xavier groaned, clearly getting impatient.

"Look, I don't know! If I can't remember something, I can't! There's no point in being so… _annoying!_" I yelled.

"Temper, temper. Just like your boyfriend." A lethal girl with long, curled mahogany hair walked in from the outside. Cold air flew in with her. Little white specks of snow landed on the floor and melted. She reminded me of Heidi

"I don't have a boyfriend." I growled.

"Oh- you broke up with Nathaniel, then?" She assumed innocently.

"No, she hasn't." Nathaniel stalked in, with a huge bucket of water.

"What's that water for?" I asked, forgetting my anger.

"Its not water, its oil. Xavier, your car has diarrhea." Nathaniel's dark humor almost made me crack a smile.

"What happened?" Xavier's eyes were wide.

"Ask Dominic, Damien, and David." Then Nathaniel muttered, "Idiots."

"Mongrels!" Xavier shouted, and run out the front doors.

Nathaniel carried the oil into the kitchen. I followed, while the girl followed Xavier with a curious and amused expression.

Nathaniel continued through the kitchen and opened glass doors that led to a huge backyard of nothing but weeds and grass.

"What are you going to do- pour it in the lake? You'd better not!" I warned.

Nathaniel glared at me. "I'm not stupid. We dispose of it properly."

"Properly how?" I wanted to know.

"You haven't changed a bit." Nathaniel smiled at me this time, when I'd been expecting more hatred.

"Actually, I think I have- but what do you know? You hardly know me!" I raged.

"On the contrary, we do know you. Danielle, David, Rachelle, and I. You just don't remember us. And, I hope it's not too late for saying sorry about knocking you over the head, but you just wouldn't shut up."

"I'm listening." I urged him to go on.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Wrong. You're twenty-two. See, when you went to the asylum, you were only there for about six months before Xavier rescued you. You were so shocked by him, that you fainted. You woke up and Sicilia was with you. That was kind of a shock too, to find that your parents were alive and were vampires. But, you didn't really get mad about it- that much. Most of the time, and in your sleep even, you kept talking about this Andrew, and Ryan, and this little girl named Lucy. No one could figure out what was wrong with you,"-my eyes narrowed-"and you wouldn't tell us. So, for the next four years, you stayed with us."

I took in all the information. Now, everything made sense but one thing.

"Someone told me that you were my boyfriend." I hinted.

"Yes, and I still am- unless, you want to change that?" His eyes clouded with momentary pain.

"No, but Damien-,"

"Damien has Rachelle." My heart broke. I'd always had a place in it for Damien, but he'd fallen for someone else. Of course, I'd left him for Timothy, but that was forced.

Now I was just making excuses. I would live with his decisions.

"Alright, now that that's cleared up, let's get rid of this oil- properly." I smiled.

Nathaniel nodded and ran off in the direction of the woods. I followed his scent until we came to a small shed. He was outside it, pouring the oil into a steel garbage can.

"Once I have time, I'll take this to a hazardous waste dump." Nathaniel said after he sealed on the top of the can. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Crud- go back to the house!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you later- just go!" He urged.

"If there's something dangerous, I'll have you know that I can protect myself. I _was_ assassin." I snapped.

"That's true," Nathaniel considered. "But, a pack of twelve werewolves might be a problem."

"Twelve?" My mouth hung open. "That can't be. The Volturi would have killed them off by now. That is too big of a pack to be left alone."

"The Volturi don't get tipped off about everything." Nathaniel snapped, then lowered his voice. "We've seen them. They only attack if one or two of us has left the safety of numbers. I can't believe they're still here!"

"How come they haven't attacked us yet then?"

"Because they know how to analyze strength. They're probably deciding whether or not to attack, and… they're also listening to our conversation. Have you ever fought a werewolf?" Nathaniel asked.

"Yes. I've fought three at a time. That was the biggest pack I've ever seen, but there were five of us- not two."

He groaned. "Why didn't you run when I told you to? We're surrounded now."

"How do you know?" I demanded.

"Because I can sense the presence of demons. Every vampire can." Nathaniel explained.

Something growled from the shadows, and leaped for Nathaniel, but he was too fast. He stepped to the side and punched it into a tree with a force that could compare to Timothy's.

Four more jumped for him after that.

I hissed and glared at the bushes around me; daring the other wolfs to make a move.

My teeth changed from the human form and sharpened into white, venom-coated razors. I'd been an assassin like Timothy, so my eyes turn black as closed my eyes and listened to the noises around me, getting ready to use all my strength to kill the first wolf that dared approach me.

Leaves rustled to my left, and I heard the werewolf jump. I leaned down and put my hands on the ground, and formed a perfect handstand. My legs spread apart into a spilt, so, as the wolf leaped through, I clamped my legs around its neck. Then, I flipped over and pressed its body into the dirt. With the wolf's neck still between my legs, I reached down to the head, and pulled with all my might until it ripped off in a bloody mess. I smashed the head with my foot, and growled, entreating the wolves to join their pack member's fate.

In a howling rage, another wolf hurled itself at me. I turned to it, and when the werewolf reached me, I grabbed its muzzle, and twisted the whole head, until it came off just like the other one's had. Then I ripped at the head with my teeth and shredded it into many chunks of bone and flesh.

Almost immediately after that, the remaining wolves that weren't fighting Nathaniel roared in pain. The five of them pounced on me. I shot out from the middle of them and flew about 30 feet into the air. I landed with both of my feet crushing two of the dog's heads. Blood spattered my clothes and my face. I licked my lips, and stepped off the enormous heads.The other three whimpered and retreated into the woods. I stood still, with my eyes still closed, and listened to the sounds Nathaniel's battle fade away as the other mongrels ran away, too.

"You killed four of them." Nathaniel marveled. "I killed only two."

"Burn the bodies." I ordered, forgetting that I wasn't in charge of a patrol.

"Yes ma'am." Nathaniel mocked.

I relaxed as I realized there was no more fighting to be done. I opened my eyes to a bright flame, and the rancid smell of burning werewolves.

My teeth began to go back to their normal state, but I couldn't tell if my eyes were right yet. If Nathaniel saw my eyes, what would he say? I shut my eyelids over my pupils, just to be sure.

I let the heat from the flames warm my ice cold body. It felt so good to feel warm again. My lips twitched upward into a smile.

"Your skin reflects the light beautifully." Nathaniel murmured. I almost jumped out of my peaceful state, but his compliment kept me in.

A cold thumb touched my cheek and rubbed it. "It's still not as warm as it used to be." Nathaniel muttered quietly.

I opened my eyes, I couldn't help myself, to see his face just inches from mine. I looked for signs of shock on his face, just incase my eyes were still black. But, his expression was calm.

"I wonder…" He whispered, just before pressing his lips against mine, ever so gently. Did I even feel it, or was this just my imagination?

Nathaniel pulled back slowly, put both of his hands on my face, and smiled. "But, your lips are still the same- soft and sweet."


	14. Confessions

The look in Nathaniel's eye caught me completely off guard. I'd never seen anyone look at me that way. Not even Timothy; he had had looked at me with care and passion- this was something deeper.

Nathaniel loved me. He _really_ loved me. (It felt good to know that someone did.) And, I'd had my doubts about Timothy. I had always wondered if he was just using me, and that he hadn't killed me on his first mission because that wasn't what it was. His mission had actually been to charm me into coming back to the Volturi. It had worked.

But, Timothy had loved me. He'd sacrificed his safety for mine more times than I could ever count… was that what love was, though? I owed him, and the guilt that I felt for not being able to repay him made me do anything he asked me to do. His powers had found a different way to work, but did Timothy know that?

I mentally slapped myself. Was his death in vain because I was making it seem that way? He'd died for me. How cruel could a wife be to criticize him for it, and then go off with another man the next second?

Nathaniel saw my conflicting emotions hurling themselves across my face. He stepped back at the final one- which was anger: at him, at myself, at Aro, at _all_ of the Volturi, at my family…

"Sorry, if you have a mate, I'll understand." Nathaniel took another step back closer to the flames.

Timothy's death snapped back at me. _The flames!_

"Get away from the flames!" I screeched, jumping forward and pushing him with cautious strength to the left.

Nathaniel must have been expecting me to attack, because he barely moved an inch; he only grabbed my shoulders in a grip that I'd have thought impossible for him.

I looked at him with worry. If he didn't move, he might fall into the fire and burn!

"Move! You're going to die!" I screamed at him, my expression pleading.

He glanced at the fire. "No, I'm not. I can keep my balance on solid ground."

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. I was going crazy. Of course he wouldn't fall into the flames, and even if he had, he had enough strength to get out.

"Oh, I guess you're right." I muttered, my head drooping.

"Why would you ever think I would?" Nathaniel let go of my shoulders. I looked up at him. Maybe I should confess. It would be good to get rid of the guilt.

"I had a mate. Hence the word _had_. His name was Timothy, the Volturi assassin that stole me from Damien and Xavier. He risked his life for me multiple times. Remember the other werewolf mission I told about? He was there, and when I faced those two werewolves, I had no idea what to do. He killed the ones he was assigned to and helped me fight off mine. After that, he trained me in fighting werewolves. He also taught me to fight, run, jump, and escape death like him. Everything I know as an assassin was everything he knew, and we fell in love. If that's what you want to call it." My voice was a low monotone.

"Timothy's power was flirtation. He could make any girl he wanted fall in love with him- if they didn't know how to detect when he worked his magic. I knew, so he didn't dare do it to me. So in the end, I was really falling for him. But, I couldn't help but have doubts. I was right, too. Every time he saved me I was more and more into his debt. I felt pressured to love him, to care for him, and to give him everything he wanted- including the more sexual desires."

"You're not a virgin?" Nathaniel whispered.

"No, but don't think that he was some kind of sick pervert. I don't think Timothy even knew that his powers had found a way to work. I loved him, in a sense, but that love balanced very delicately- like on the tip of a knife. I'm surprised that I hadn't blown a fuse or something. If I was with him now, I might have slapped him or something…" I struggled to go on. Nathaniel noticed my hesitation.

"Go on," He prompted.

I took a deep breath. "But, who am I, to be so cruel? I'm criticizing him for saving me, and taking care of me, and, no offense, going off with another man! I'm acting like his death was nothing, and it isn't! Why can't I cry to show him that I really to care, wherever he is? Alec always said that girls are cruel and selfish. I don't want to be the stereotype he has made me seem! I don't want to be mean! All I want is for someone to see that I have been stuck up before, but that I'm truly sorry. I was reckless back then. I'm not evil or masochistic or sadistic or vindictive or plotting or… I'm just… me." It was done, finished. Hopefully, Nathaniel would see how much this meant to me, to finally be able to confess my troubles.

He nodded thoughtfully. "So, how'd Timothy die?"

"It was our last mission. We were going to destroy an exiled assassin- Gerald. I knew him, in fact, we'd been friends. But Aro found out he was actually a spy for a coven of malicious vampires who killed more than they should and who were plotting to overthrow the Volturi in our messed up system of hierarchy. When we found him he was the garage of a factory that had been built for the semis that transported their goods. He tried messing up our fighting tactics. He messed with our heads. That was his power. He'll change your state of mind. That's why the Volturi excepted him in the first place. Well, he'd caught Timothy off guard and snapped off his head. I'd fell to ground, grieving for him, but soon realized I had to avenge his death. I picked up a semi and threw it at him. That was useless. Then, he started messing with my head again, and stalled me while he burned Timothy's body- finishing him off. An idea popped into my head then…" I reached up to grasp the necklace Timothy had given me, but remembered that it wasn't there. "I threw a necklace that I'd had into the fire and ran away. I'd been dreaming of the day forever- the day when I'd finally escape the Volturi. In a way, Timothy had set me free as well as save me. If heaven is forever barred to us, then it shouldn't be for him. Timothy really does have a good heart."

"And then you ran to Oregon- where we found you." Nathaniel finished. "Hm, you've never confessed like that before. I wish you could remember your time at the orphanage."

I cocked my head to one side. "I can remember a little, but they tend to come in visions. There were a few when Damien and I went to Flor-,"

Nathaniel put to cold fingers on my lips. "That's enough for one day. You can tell me more tomorrow. I don't think I could handle anymore."

What did he mean: he couldn't handle anymore? Did this hurt him, to hear me talk about another man so lovingly? Yes, it must.

"Sorry." I murmured under his fingers.

"No, its fine, you can confide in me." Nathaniel's sincerity assured me. "Anyway, I think this fire is controlled. Let's get back."

I'd almost forgotten about everyone else.

"Yes, I guess we should go." I agreed and took off towards the house. Nathaniel quickly followed.

When we got to the house, everyone was inside the entryway. Xavier glared at us.

"Where have you been? Everyone has been searching for you!" He scolded.

"By god, Nathaniel! Have you become suicidal? Everybody knows not to mess with the werewolves when you're alone!" Danielle shrieked, staring in horror at Nathaniel. I glanced at him, and finally noticed.

Apparently, the werewolves had given him quite a time. His shirt had three large claw marks that had shredded his shirt. Underneath them, partly healed, but still gruesome, gouges had sliced into his stomach. They were about three inches wide, and went all the way across him to his sides. His foot half dangled from nearly being torn off. He was missing part of his finger and was marred with scratches. I gasped and clasped my hand over my mouth.

"Its nothing, doesn't even hurt." Nathaniel assured us pitifully.

"Convincing." I muttered, and grabbed his hand. I looked at where his index finger should be.

"You'll have four fingers!" Dominic snickered.

"Loser!" David joined in.

"What, a tiny werewolf too much for you?" Damien teased.

"We'll never let you forget this!" Dominic promised as Nathaniel stared quietly at them, but a silent fury burned in them.

"Yes, you will!" I snapped, and then wrapped both of my hands around his.

During my time with the Volturi, I'd discovered more things about my power. Apparently, I had my mother's exact same ones. I could move anything, but in fear of becoming like her, I didn't do it often. I only did it when it was necessary. I'd also found out that I really could heal anything- heal it fully; heal it like it never happened.

When I removed my hands, he had a new finger. I smiled at him, and pressed both hands against his ruined stomach. The wounds made stomach churning sounds as they healed.

After that, I kneeled to heal his ankle. A bone snapped back in place when it was done. Then, I closed my eyes, and concentrated hard. Healing a whole body took a lot of energy to do correctly. If I made a small miscalculation on how much energy to use, I could make a wound worse. Using almost all I had left, I healed every single scratch or tear.

"Feel better?" I said as I finished and stood up.

"Very." Nathaniel lifted his shirt to show that his stomach had healed. I looked a little bit longer than I should have, but it was hard not to. Nathaniel was gorgeous. I was glad I healed him faster than the average vampire could heal themselves. It would be such a waste for him to lose his good looks for so long.

"Thanks Amelia, for healing him," Damien remarked sarcastically. "Now we can't laugh at him for having four fingers. You've been a big help."

I turned on him with narrowed eyes that blazed with hatred. "Would we have laughed at you if you lost your finger? I think not! Everyone would have felt sorry for you! As far as I've seen, everyone treats Nathaniel horribly! You always ignore his opinions, not just when they're sarcastic! Damien, you're lucky I don't slap you! From now on, there will be no more hatred towards each other! I've lived with it forever, and I thought that everyone here was better than the Volturi- just go down to their pathetic level, why don't you?" I roared.

"Since when do we follow your orders? Oh, wait- we're supposed to feel bad for you. I'm sorry, I forgot!" Damien raked back at me.

"No you're not, in fact, treat me horribly because deserve it! So, throw me another shit-load of crap, Damien!" I demanded, but that shut him up for some reason.

So, instead, I was breathing fast with the heat of the argument and he was looking taken aback.

"Amelia is right." Xavier was the first one to speak. "Nathaniel, we owe you an apology."

"Yeah, sorry Nathaniel; if I ever hurt your feelings." Dominic mocked and vanished up the stairs.

"Sorry, Nate- I'm truly sorry." Danielle apologized. She looked sympathetic.

I looked over at Nathaniel because I was getting an odd vibe off him… embarrassment?

Yep. It was embarrassment. I could just imagine his cheeks turning red. The look on his face said it all, but, instead of showing it too prominently, he only nodded at their apologies. I guessed he'd have something to say later. But, at least he'd feel more comfortable, right?

After everyone had said sorry, everyone except Damien and Rachelle, Danielle came striding gracefully towards Nathaniel.

"Seriously, I am sorry. Although, I don't think I was ever _that_ mean to you."

"You weren't." Nathaniel nodded, still embarrassed.

Then, Danielle left, and we were alone. Nathaniel's head snapped towards me. His eyes narrowed.

"I can take care of myself! You know what's going to happen now? They're going to be even more retarded. I put up with them for 97 years; do you think I could have handled that?" His voice showed how he struggled to be calm.

"No one should go through that- vampire or human. We all have a soul or a demon, and soul or demon, what ever you have I don't care, it doesn't deserve to be tortured so. I would be suicidal if I were you. Don't you care that they hate you?" I had empathy for him, but he had to see that I hadn't meant for this to backfire and make him feel even more excluded.

"No."

"Then why do you stay with them?"

Nathaniel snorted and looked away.

I put my hand lightly on his cheek and pushed his face back towards mine. I begged him to tell me what was on his mind with my eyes.

"Well, I thought that some day… maybe… that you'd get fed up with the Volturi and come looking for Xavier. So, if I was with him when you came back, I'd get to see you again." He murmured.

"You're sweet, but you didn't have to do that. They would have told me about you and I would have looked for you." I promised, knowing what I said was true.

"No, you wouldn't have. Why would you go looking for someone that you didn't even know? No one in their right mind would do that." He disagreed.

"Then I guess I'm not in my right mind. I don't know why, but I have this… instinct… of motherhood, or protection, or maybe I'm OCD or something… I don't know, but I can't stand to see someone suffer or be alone. I can't stand to have anyone mad at me anymore- just only the people I don't hate, and Nathaniel, I don't hate. It takes a lot for someone to make me hate them." I tried, pathetically, to explain.

"I should have guessed. You give Damien more slack than he deserves, and you haven't yelled at Xavier once- even though he's the worst one of the bunch." Nathaniel walked toward the kitchen, stopping near the entrance, motioning for me to follow.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, but obeyed.

"Don't be so quick to forgive." He said under his breath, and pointed into the kitchen.

I peered around the side of the archway and looked into the kitchen. What I saw was a shock, not because I never thought it would happen, but more because a surprising surge of jealousy went through me.

Damien and Rachelle were having a very intimate moment. Their lips were locked, they were half-naked, and- I couldn't watch anymore. I was going to gag. They were doing it in the kitchen!

I glared at Nathaniel. "I didn't need to see that." I murmured furiously.

"But, now do you see that he doesn't need your comfort?" Nathaniel asked in a disgusted tone. "That pervert... if Rachelle wasn't my sister, I would kill him."

Nathaniel was right. Damien didn't have self esteem issues now.

"Well, it was disgusting, I'll have you know. Don't ever show me something like that ever again." I warned.

"Or you'll have my head." He finished mockingly.

"Yes, and don't you ever think otherwise." I chuckled.

"DAMIEN, DOMINIC!" Xavier roared from outside.

"I'm guessing he saw what they did to his car?" I assumed.

"Yes, would you like to see it?" Nathaniel suggested.

"Maybe, but I don't want to be around when Xavier starts throwing things." I laughed and strode out to the damaged car. Nathaniel followed.

"Do you see what they did? Do you? Can you believe it? This is not funny! I worked on improving this car to be fit for vampires for years! The tires had the best grip, but now there aren't any!" Xavier fumed as he paced around his car.

Obviously, the car had no tires, but shredded pieces of them were everywhere. An abandoned air pump laid near the Mustang, along with… jumper cables?

"They overcharged the battery." Nathaniel explained.

"How can you overcharge a battery?" I asked.

"Well, it is 2101… cars have changed. See, Xavier got this Mustang a long time ago, but when the car got outdated, he decided to fix the engine himself. Most cars are electric now, but he hates them. His car runs on hydrogen. His engine is the only one of its kind. He only kept the Mustang's look, everything else on the car has changed… except the seats. But his battery has stayed the same. I think there's this element involved.

"Anyway, Dominic probably used some old jumper cables- very old ones- and the engine's battery overcharged… I guess. I'm not a very good mechanic, but do you see my point?"

I nodded and went to calm my dad. "Don't worry. If you made this engine, you can fix it, right? And the tires- you must have designed them. Where are the blueprints?"

"Yes, the tires can be fixed, but they over charged my battery! It was a lead-acid battery! Look around you, Amelia! My car is finished. When they overcharged it, the battery created more hydrogen gas- look over there. What do you suppose those matches were used for? A little bit of my car is _still_ on fire. Don't you see it?" Xavier ranted as he explained what had happened to his car better than Nathaniel had.

First, Dominic had aired up Xavier's tires to the bursting point. Then, he'd used old jumper cables, and an old car, to severely overcharge the batteries. The chemical reaction was highly flammable hydrogen. Then he'd used the matched to ignite it.

The explosion had even melted some of the snow around it. The fir trees that were close to it were bent away from the car and some of their branches were burned off.

Xavier's car was blackened and the windows were busted along with the tires. One of the car doors and the hood had come off, and now I found myself wondering: why hadn't I heard the explosion?

I was silent for a few more moments. "What are you going to do to them?" I whispered curiously.

"You'll see." His eyes were focused on something far away… probably imagining the worst possible punishment for them. I smiled. They deserved it. What they did to Xavier's car was not funny- it was just mean and cold hearted.

"Tell me when you've thought of it. I want to be there when they're punished." I grinned. Seeing them in pain might lighten the mood, _and _give me license to mock them.

"Sure."

I walked a few steps away from Xavier, to show I was done talking. Then, I looked toward Nathaniel. Danielle was whispering urgently in his ear. He smirked and replied, but he showed no sign of knowing that he'd noticed my conversation was over, so I took an opportunity that was, I'll admit, a little childish.

I leaned down and smashed some of the snow into a large ball. I put it behind my back took a few large strides closer to Nathaniel and Danielle and hurled the snow balled at them with all my strength.

The snow broke into multiple pieces and glittered in the moonlight as it hit Nathaniel's head. Soon, Nathaniel's face appeared. He had a blank expression. His head turned slowly toward me, his unkept hair and jacket littered with snow. He glared at me.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry, it was an accident."

"Was it?" He asked dryly, but he suddenly laughed in a way I'd never heard him before. Then, reached down and threw an enormous ball of snow at me. It was so unexpected that I had no time to dodge it.

The evil ball of white powder slammed into my face, making me fall backwards. I landed on my back with an "Oof!"

"The mighty assassin is taken out by flying snow!" Dominic called from the porch and Nathaniel immediately stopped laughing.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I grabbed some more snow and summoned up my assassin power and the snow soared through the air hitting him in the stomach. Dominic grunted as he flew into the house, making a large dent in the bricks.

"Hey! You're making as much damage as they did!" Xavier scolded me.

I shrugged, not really sorry for what I'd done.

"I'll get you back!" Dominic swore as he recovered.

Nathaniel was already at my side. "He will, you know."

"I know, but I don't care."

"What happened to you?" Dominic was striding reluctantly towards Xavier, but he was looking at me. "You used to be more fun."

"Times have changed." I started as Damien was coming out, his hair more ruffled than usual, and he was buttoning his pants. I cleared my throat and cocked my head in his direction "And apparently, so has your brother's decency."

"What?" Dominic glanced at Damien. "Oh, yeah… that."

Damien and Dominic had made their way to Xavier. "What were you two thinking? This is low, even for you! I have a right good mind to…" Xavier's voice faded away as I began to ignore it. Instead I was focusing on the rising sun.

It was a new day, and it was time to start a new life.


	15. Random

**THIS IS NOT CHAPTER FIFTEEN! This is a small, brief glimpse of Amelia's past with everyone in chapter fourteen. REMEMBER: Amelia spent two years with her family. She has not fallen in love with Nathaniel yet. I actually wrote this a long time ago but decided to put it in NO HOPE. **

I sat down on the hard, uncomfortable spring mattress and groaned. How had things turned out so bad? Why was I in an asylum? There was nothing, nothing wrong with me; well, except for the fact that I'd killed someone-- it was an accident. I never wanted him to die, and despite how hard I try to forget it, it always comes back to haunt me. The terrifying memory shadows my every move. _The rain, the blood, the regret, and him…_

Ryan. His very name made me cringe. It was the one time that I went over-board with my temper, and it would be the only time. But the things he had said, the things that he had done. The rage had been overpowering.

Eight years. Eight long, miserable years I had endured the irritation of his existence. He'd beaten me in so many ways, tearing me apart from the inside, and now, I'm starting to think that it was my parents' fault. They were the ones who'd abandoned me, left me to suffer. But, there was one person who'd understood me. There was one person who'd ever cared for me: my one and only friend, Andrew.

Andrew had lived at the orphanage, too. Sometimes he would stand up for me and tell Ryan to "back off", but Andrew couldn't even compare to Ryan when it came to strength; Ryan would simply push him to the ground. But, Andrew was compassionate, and sometimes I wished that we could have been something more than friends.

I tensed. What was happening right now, at the orphanage? Was Andrew okay? What if Ryan's old friends decided to get revenge? How could I have been so stupid, why hadn't I seen this before? What if Andrew was… was... _dead_?

Tears started to blur my vision. I quickly wiped them away with my hand and cursed silently. Tears were a sign of weakness; there was no way that I was going to be seen as weak, or even pathetic.

_No, Amelia, it's okay to cry; you're not weak. Any other person would have given up on life by now. _Andrew's words rang inside my head like a doorbell. My memory had pulled out a fairly good imitation of his voice, causing the traitor tears to return. This time, I let them fall as I listened to my imaginary Andrew.

"Time for your meds," One of the nurses knocked on the barred door after what seemed like hours.

"I'm coming," I sniffed, and crawled off the bed in no hurry. My sock covered feet were protected from the ice cold floor as I dragged myself to the door. She handed me the pills and a cup of water that was no doubt contaminated. I popped them in my mouth and dutifully swallowed them down with the infectious liquid.

I handed her the empty cup. "Are you alright, dear?" She asked, not able to compose her curiosity.

I stood in shock for a few seconds-- most nurses never really inquired about my condition. "Yeah, sure." I finally muttered, walked back to my bed.

"Well, okay then." Her heels clicked against the floor as she shuffled her way down the hall.

I fell face forward onto the bed and I sighed with my body spread across the wool blanket. Unlike most days, I was willing to take my pills. Most of the time they'd have to physically force them into my mouth, but tonight, I was grateful for the distraction. That was probably what alerted the nurse.

My eyes started to droop shut; I was so too tired to fight them-- the crying had taken its toll on my energy-- so I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of a loud blaring noise bouncing off the hard floor and brick walls. Immediately recognizing the sound as a security breach, I groaned and repositioned myself under the blankets-- some crazy kid had actually managed to get free.

Then, suddenly, there was a creaking noise that was alarmingly close-- it was the familiar, everyday sound of one of the barred doors opening.

My eyes fluttered open, scanning through the darkness, searching for whoever had come in. I couldn't see anyone from the position I was in, so I sat up.

A tall, dark figure stood in the doorway with his hands balled into fists. It was hard to see him clearly in the contrast of light behind him and the darkness of my room, but I thought I saw him smiling.  
My heart sputtered hyper-actively in fear, and my breathing became uneven.

Abruptly, the strange man was standing by my bedside. I stared at him completely motionless.

A clamor of deep voices and running feet started to get louder and louder from down the hall. There was not a doubt in my mind that said it wasn't the lazy security guards. Ha! No surprise then, that this man had got in easily, but I wondered: why would someone want to break into a mental asylum?

The man twisted his face to glare in the direction of the voices, and I gasped. His face was remarkably beautiful; it belonged on a magazine cover.

"Xavier," He held out his pale hand before I could examine him more. I stared at it, debating whether not to tell him my name. The obvious answer was no. This man was, apparently, an idiot.

But yet, not strong enough to resist the smolder of his eyes, I reached out to shake his hand. "Amelia." I said, then gasped again as I reflexively tried to jerk my hand away, but he yanked me out from under the covers-- his hand had been ice cold, and rock hard.

I let out a small squeal before Xavier had me propped onto his back; everything after that was a complete blur. Objects flew past me at frightening speeds, after awhile I started to feel dizzy, and soon enough, I had fainted.

"… I still think it's wrong. Don't you think she'll be even a tiny bit mad at us? I mean, we _did_ leave her." said a soft voice.

"It's a possibility, but, I'm hoping she'll forgive us." A different, male one whispered.

I groaned, and shivered, but my eyes were too heavy to open.

A cold finger touched my face with the gentlest force; another one stroked my now matted hair.

"My poor baby," The gentle, soft voice murmured.

There was a loud snarl-- I flinched-- followed by a piercing scream. It was suddenly cut off by a loud snap.

"Can you please move to a more appropriate venue?" The male voice hissed.

"Mmmm…" I moaned, and tried to turn over without much success. My muscles were weak and frail, so much so that I was almost in pain.

"Amelia?" The comforting voice asked.

I had finally managed to open my eyes, but they were blinded by a brilliant light, and some kind of mush.

One of the cold hands moved from my cheek to my eyes, wiping away whatever was contributing to my blindness.

Now, I could see them.

Two people, one male, one female, were leaning over me. Their faces both extremely pale, their eyes like liquid gold, and their bodies ideal. One of them, I realized, was Xavier, the other stranger was magnificent just the same. Her dirty blond hair was cut off just below her shoulders, held by her delicate face. It looked like she wore very little make-up, but she didn't need it with her lips, or her cheekbones. It was the face of a goddess.

Now that I could examine Xavier better, I realized that he looked even better than before. His shaggy black hair gleamed in the light, along with his perfectly shaped jaw. Behind his light blue t-shirt, his muscles were visible. I couldn't even imagine how pathetic I looked next to their glory.

I began to pull my wide-eyed face up to see if there was anything else worth committing to memory. As I did, the extraordinary strangers backed away cautiously with their jaws clenched, and I started to examine my surroundings.

I was lying on a huge king sized bed. (The pale skinned people were standing beside it.) Two large windows sat on either side of it, and thick red curtains with a gold trim blocked the, as I assumed, glorious view. A mahogany dresser was positioned against the opposite wall, and under it, a lavish rug. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting the majestic room. There was also a white wooden door to the right of the bed, and a golden couch to the left- a coffee table in front of it. The bedroom walls were lined with a faded white paint. The floor was a polished brown wood. I gaped at its perfection.

Xavier glided around the bed to put his arm around the woman. I continued to gape, but this time, at his grace. It was, astonishingly, extremely feline.

They both broke into hushed laughter as I continued to stare.

"What?" I said automatically. They stopped laughing.

"Nothing," The woman said in her soft voice. "It's just that we're overjoyed to see you again, daughter." She beamed.

Xavier grinned at me. "Welcome home."

I shook my head ferociously. This couldn't be happening…

That was it! It wasn't really happening, this was just a dream. (A very _vivid_ dream.) Hmmm, if this was a dream, it was also a very good one. Now a days, I usually didn't get very pleasant dreams, so I might as well take advantage this and play along.

"Oh, happy day! I'm so glad to see you again, as well!" I exclaimed.

The woman's eyebrows pull together.

Xavier snickered. So, he caught onto my charade, didn't he? I scowled at him.

"Wait, are you serious?" He stopped laughing

"Yes, I guess, but this is just a dream after all." I said, jumping off the bed.

They rearranged their features- now they were both glaring at me.

"This is not a dream, Amelia. We're really here." The woman smiled.

"Yeah, right." My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"We're telling to truth. Do you want me to prove it to you?" Xavier snapped.

"Go ahead." I crossed my arms impatiently.

He pulled away from the woman and was suddenly be my side. Xavier took a tiny strand of my hair and ripped it from my head.

"Ouch!" I yelped.

"See? If you were in a dream you would have woken up. As far as I know, you can't feel pain in dreams." He placed my now dead hair in my hand.

"Huh?" I whispered, staring at the strand of hair. Tears started to swell up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away.

"You're sad?" My "mother's" soft voice chimed.

Fire burned in my chest. "No, I'm not sad! I'm mad! How dare you leave me to waste away for nineteen years and expect me to forgive you! It's too late to raise me now, I'm all grown up! If I hadn't been in an asylum, I would be at college! Do you know how much that I've been through: what others have put me through?" I was sobbing now.

"What the hell is going on in here?" A new, male voice growled.

Xavier and the woman formed a wall between me and the new stranger.

"Out!" The woman hissed.

"Why should I? What's that smell, where's it-," His voice lowered.

"OUT!" Xavier snapped his teeth together.

"Fine." The man grumbled slamming the door.

They turned around to face me again.

"My turn—what the hell was that? Who was that? Are we the only ones here? Do you have any kids that you didn't just decide to get rid-," Xavier's hand slapped onto my mouth, stopping me from saying anymore.

My eyes narrowed and I tried to pull his hands off my mouth, but I couldn't break his iron grasp.

"This conversation is no longer private--Sicilia?" He looked at her and she nodded, disappearing.

Xavier lifted his hand.

"Why would it matter if this conversation was private or not? What's there to hide? Why won't you answer my questions? Damn it, Xavier, I demand-," He covered my mouth again. This time I struggled even more, screaming against his hand. Then, noticing the peculiar scent that came off Xavier's skin, I stopped wriggling. The extraordinary smell relaxed me. It wasn't cologne, but something different that I couldn't quite place my finger on.

"That's better. Now, when I take my hand away, I want you to _be quiet_." He warned.

I rolled my eyes but nodded. He took his hand away and I pressed my lips together to keep my anger from pouring out again. My hands balled into fists until my nails were digging into my palm. Xavier chuckled and motioned for me to follow him he walked smoothly out of the bedroom. The white door led out onto the landing of two circular stair cases that wound their way up the side of the first floor walls. The floor was still oak, but the walls were a royal blue. The railing was polished oak, the same as the flooring, but the columns holding up the railing were white. To my left was a long hallway with many other doors, the end of it turned, and another staircase followed it. To my right was another hallway, but at the end of it, there were heavy, white silk curtains blocking something that was too big to be a window… glass doors?

Below the landing was a huge entry way with giant wooden doors. A piano and a few chairs sat adjacent to the door on the far left, where as another huge window with the same silk curtains hung between the door and the piano. Another big window sat on the right, followed by an arch. The arch led into a checkered floored kitchen. A magnificent chandelier hung above the entry way. Industrial like lights lined the hallways.

Amazement replaced my anger. "Is your whole house like this?"

"Pretty much." Xavier answered, leading me down the stairs. His jaw was still clenched and he never got too close to me. I ran my hand along the wooden railing, almost slipping because the floor was waxed so well. My socks barely made a sound as I shuffled along.

Suddenly conscious of my appearance I smoothed out my white t-shirt and pulled up my navy blue pajama shorts before Xavier sat me down in one of the chairs next to the piano. I crossed my legs and leaned against the back cushion.

"Stay." He commanded in a serious tone, and then glided into the kitchen.

A murmur of voices came from the kitchen in a matter of seconds. They were too low for me to hear. Sometimes they got higher, but never loud enough.

"What?!" A high-pitched female voice screamed, and soon after, a woman appeared in the archway. She glared at me with her jaw clenched, (just like everyone else I'd seen today, not that I'd seen many of them) and a second later, Sicilia had her hand on her shoulder, and the girl calmed. She looked like a girl my age, but prettier. She had strawberry-blond hair that ran down to her waist, and her clothing hinted designer origin. She made me take a huge hit on my self-esteem just being in the same room. Her eyes and skin were just the same as everyone else I had met today. Her face was also remarkably beautiful. She could definitely compare to Sicilia.

"Now, now, Danielle, I'm sure you'll get along fine." Sicilia soothed in her melodic voice.

"That's not what I'm worried about! What if _they_ come and destroy us, just because we're housing a human?" She whined, or sang- her voice was high. I was confused when she called me human, I knew I was, but her words made me think that she wasn't.

Sicilia whispered in her ear something that made her perk up and smile at me.

"Yeah," A new male voice said sarcastically from the kitchen. "They'll only chop off our heads and burn us." Then, he entered the room. He was extremely handsome. The boy had tousled dark chocolate brown hair, and more pale skin. (Causing me to quickly glance down at my slightly tanned legs to see if they had changed, but they hadn't.) His clothing didn't hint off as designer origin- it was just like Xavier's clothing: jeans, a navy blue t-shirt instead of a light blue one, and tennis shoes. And, also like Xavier, his muscular frame was visible through the t-shirt. Then, his eyes became locked on me, and his jaw tightened. What was with these people?

Oddly enough, my cheeks flushed red as he continued to stare-- scanning my body. Ugh, I looked awful. I was still in my asylum pajamas and Danielle had on _designer_ clothing. How pitiful.

I took another quick glance at the boy. His lips now twitched as if he was holding back a smile-- a completely different expression.

"You're so optimistic, Nathan." Danielle said slyly, he rolled his eyes and muttered something back at her.

"What's that supposed to mean? That I'm stupid?" She snorted, her voice dropping at the end, realizing what she had said. Nathan broke into a roar of laughter and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Then another boy walked into the room. He was the same, once again, but slightly more muscular than Xavier and the evil boy. He looked absolutely lethal, but extremely open and friendly. Another girl followed him; her long, black wavy hair was perfect. She had high cheek bones, an absolutely perfect body, and yet, more designer clothing. I was going to die of humiliation.

"So, this is the source of all the trouble." The black haired girl hissed.

"Mind yourself, Rachelle, or you'll find yourself dead! In fact, you're lucky you aren't already." Sicilia came out of her total and complete serenity and began to seethe with anger towards the girl.

"Have you forgotten, dear Sicilia, that technically, I cannot die?" Rachelle toyed with Sicilia's emotions, and I became confused once again. How could she not die? Wasn't she just like everyone else here? _Unless, she's immortal or something_… I laughed on the inside at my own little joke.

"No, I have not, but I suggest that you behave. I let you stay here, for one, because I feel sorry for you. Second, you wouldn't last one day all on your own-- the Covenant would have you in two seconds flat. So, if you choose not to obey me, I will _destroy_ you or let the Covenant do it for me." Sicilia packed venom into each syllable, making it clear she was not one to mess with.

"Shut up, you vile little menace. You're no match for me!" Rachelle growled, sending a shiver down my spine. My heart almost stopped in pure, cold-blooded fear. She leaned towards Sicilia, almost like she was ready to pounce.

"Just let it go," Danielle hissed at them.

"Yeah, sorry then, Rachelle." Sicilia growled half-heartedly.

"Whatever." Rachelle glided outside in graceful perfection. She slammed the door behind her. I was surprised that the door didn't break, and that I hadn't gone deaf.

"Wow, you two have some serious issues. Sicilia… tisk, tisk… gotta work on that temper." The handsome boy with the chocolate brown hair scolded playfully.

"At least I can control it longer than you, Nathaniel." Sicilia sneered.

Everyone but Nathaniel and I laughed. He scowled at her, unable to think of a better comeback. I watched as his expression changed as they began to whisper again. It was like he could hear what they were saying.

I looked down at my sock-covered feet. Everything was so carefree around here, except for the tension that came between Rachelle and Sicilia. It probably would have been awesome to live here my whole life… no Ryan (I cringed)… no orphanage… no asylum… no Andrew- what was I thinking! There couldn't be a world without him. I wondered: what was Andrew doing right now?

I entwined my fingers, playing with my thumbs. The tears came back again and I looked up at the ceiling to keep them from pouring out. I closed my eyes to help the process.

A cold hand was one my shoulder just before I had almost fallen asleep. Looking over the back of the chair, Xavier stood over me. He was smiling warmly, but cautiously.

A male voice too low for me to make out came from behind Xavier.

"I honestly don't know." He rubbed my shoulder. I yawned.

"Oh, okay then, get to bed sweetie." He patted my shoulder and disappeared along with the others. That was good; I really didn't need any one of them watching me as I was bound to trip and fall on my way up the stairs. I slowly got up, trying not to slip on the floor again. My arms were held out to my side, trying to balance myself as I wobbled a few feet.

"Oh!" I had gotten too confident and walked faster, but I fell and landed on my back-side, feet sweeping out from under me.

I jumped up, almost falling again, and stumbled up the stairs—running.

When I walked into the room, I skipped over to the bed and fell onto the covers. I crawled up to the gold pillows, threw them off, and climbed under the heavy, warm blankets; then, fell asleep as soon as my head had hit the pillow.

"Let me go you little twit!" Rachelle hissed, waking me up, and I quickly decided, to play opossum as I listened to what ever was going on in my room.

"Leave her alone, sis'- she hasn't done anything to you, and you don't need another reason for Sicilia to hate you." It was Nathan-- gorgeous Nathan-- who was defending me.

"Oh, shut up, _Nathaniel Riley_." She cackled, and he snarled a gruesome sound. It didn't even sound human.

"'Oh, shut up, _Rachelle Lee._'" He mimicked dryly. Their voices were so close I could actually hear them.

There was a long, unexpected silence.

"Hmmm…" Rachelle murmured mischievously. "Very interesting…" There was a silent click as the door shut.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around my stomach as it growled. I flipped over, opened my eyes, and stared at the ceiling. I tried going back to bed, but I couldn't. I just wasn't tired enough, and, I was starving. My last meal had been yesterday at the asylum… Wow, had it only been yesterday that I was there?

I shoved the covers off me, not letting myself think too hard again. I took my socks off before I stepped onto the slick floor, but quickly reversed to put my socks back on— it was freezing when you weren't under the safety of the blankets.

I coughed and slumped out the doorway.

The lights weren't on, but the sun shone through the tiny openings in the silk curtains. It was s new day-- that was good. I sighed heavily in relief. Now I could find out more about my new life, and spend time with my odd, new family. They were fun to be around, and from the experience I had just moments ago, I could tell that everyone was related to each other. (Nathan had called Rachelle "sis'".)But, they were, slightly odd.

I started walking down the hall to my right towards the glass doors. I was getting better at walking on the smooth surface. My balance skills were increasing.

When I got to the window I pulled back the curtains, and got blinded by sunlight. My eyes adjusted slowly until I was gazing upon a beautiful forest, and a lake. The sun reflected off the lake and a few boats sped past. A flock of birds flew overhead with snowcapped mountains in the distance.

"Amelia!" Xavier growled from behind me. I turned around, my eyes searching for him in the darkness.

"Shut the damn curtains!" He snarled.

"Why, it's beautiful day. You have a great view." I complimented.

"Just shut the curtains, hurry!" He urged, but I was too late. Danielle came into the hallway from a different room, directly into the sunlight. Her skin was suddenly like a million tiny crystals. It shimmered brilliantly. I stood motionless, completely memorized by the scene before me.

Xavier cursed and pushed Danielle into another room. His skin began to sparkle when he came out of the darkness.

"Oops." Danielle giggled from the other room.

Xavier stormed past me and pulled the curtains shut-- he glared. "I guess now I'm going to have to explain everything to you and answer a million more of your questions."

I finally blinked. "How could I not have questions? I just saw glowing people!"

Xavier groaned.

"Okay then, don't tell me, but I'll have you know, I _will_ find out sooner or later." I warned and stomped away as dramatically as I could.

"Amelia! You're being unnecessarily difficult!" Xavier called.

I yanked the door to my bedroom open.

"Hey," An ice cold hand grabbed my elbow. I turned to see the beautiful boy just inches away from me. My heart almost stopped. "I'll tell you, that way it'll be sooner."

"I'm listening."

"Do you believe in vampires?" He let go of my arm.

"No."

"Well," Nathan said smugly. "You might want to start."

"Ha, Ha." I took a step forward, but Nathan was suddenly in front of me- smiling devilishly with razor-sharp teeth.

Paranoia crept up my spine.

"It's not Halloween yet, so you can put those away." I held onto my fearless ego even though I was scared half to death.

His face fell, but the smiled returned. Then, abruptly, Nathan was leaning over my neck. He sucked in a huge breath of air.

"Nice try." I squeaked. He chuckled.

"I'm serious, though. Why do you think all of us have the same eye color? The same pale skin? And I'm sure you wondered why Xavier and Danielle shone in the sunlight." Nathan's cool breath fanned across my skin as he put one marble hand on my neck—inhaling once more. I stood in complete shock…. My parents were vampires and Nathan was breathing in the _smell_ of my _neck_- either he was trying to scare me or he was telling the truth.

Nathan popped up and leaned against the doorway casually as Sicilia appeared. She eyed him.

"I hope you weren't planning to have my daughter for an early morning snack." There was a nervous edge to her voice.

"No ma'am."

"Leave us." Xavier commanded, coming into view. Nathan disappeared in a flash.

"What was going on over here?" Sicilia asked, skeptical.

"Nothing, really." I lied.

"Amelia, c'mon." Xavier sounded like a real parent, for a vampire and all. I was surprised with myself that I was taking everything so coolly. I had just found out my parents were vampires and hadn't fainted--yet.

I gave them the silent treatment.

"I can see we are getting nowhere with this." Xavier sighed and flew away, muttering something to Sicilia—she rolled her eyes in response.

Then, Sicilia began stare at me with a sheepish expression. A faint smile was spread across her face.

I couldn't face the childish mask, so I trotted to my bed. She followed silently.

I caught onto her scheme, so I glared at her with narrowed eyes. She stared back, mask unbroken.

I giggled at her when she made a horrid face, but then recovered.

It was about five minutes before I finally gave in.

"Argh! Fine! I think Nathan was trying to scare me or something-- he told me you were vampires-- that's all. Did you really go through all that for this?" I groaned.

"Actually, it was fun, but that's not quite what _I_ wanted to hear." She grinned widely as she drifted away.

Danielle's musical laughter sounded after Sicilia was out of my sight.

I blew out a huge gust of air, flopped back, and dozed off.

When I woke up there was no light coming from the windows. Ah, night, finally.

"Amelia, guess what Danielle and I did why you were asleep?" Sicilia sang, dancing in with great timing.

"What?" I asked passively.

"We got you some new clothes!" She exclaimed. "Here, I want you to try them on. You're going to look so beautiful!" She shoved a bunch of clothing onto me.

"Oh, thanks." I said sarcastically under the pile.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She scolded. "We'll be waiting out here. Please come and model for us!"

"Fine." I shoved the clothes onto the floor, being a total pushover. But, the truth was, I needed some different clothes.

I picked out a short dress that had black dots on it and a red ribbon around the waist. I looked at it with complete disgust.

I slipped it on and walked out with a sullen expression.

"Ohhh! You look so cute!" Sicilia rushed over to me. "Turn."

I glared at her, but spun unwillingly.

"Nice." Not Nathan but the other boy commented.

"Doesn't she look so much better?" Danielle beamed.

"Wonderful. I just love getting such great compliments. You all are so kind." I slumped back into the room to try on more hideous 'clothing'. All of it was extremely revealing. The only thing that I liked was a black dress that hung above my knees and had a slight part. I told Sicilia that all I wanted was jeans and a few t-shirts, and maybe a few hoodies, but, unfortunately, they forced me to keep the things that fit. (Even though I'd never wear them.)

They gave me a few 4 inch high heels. I could walk in them, but I had no desire to look that way, and to be taller than Xavier. How had this become fashion? This was _not_ fashion.

At the end of the three hour torture session, I was wearing a pair of faded black jeans, and maroon sweater with a hood layered over a white turtle neck. I refused to wear the high heels- again- and instead wore a pair of Converses. The outfit was nice—I liked it, but I wasn't going to give in and let them win.

"Ridiculous," I muttered walking down the stairs.

"I would think that my daughter would at least show a little interest in her appearance. I for one, am deeply ashamed. Most humans tend to enjoy things like shopping." Sicilia scoffed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be the daughter you wanted me to be." I pretended to cry.

"You'd better be sorry. You're glad I don't make you wear that dress. I don't know what's wrong with you. That dress was adorable!" She complained.

"Face it, Sicilia, Amelia is mental." Danielle snickered.

"Is that you, Amelia? Wow, that's an improvement." Xavier laughed, kissing Sicilia on the cheek when we were at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh enough already! Jeez, you guys, I don't see anything wrong with jeans and a t-shirt. Plus, it wasn't my fault I just happened to be wearing my pajamas when Xavier got me from the asylum." I whined.

"That reminds me, why were you at an asylum anyway?" Danielle asked, barely interested.

"I killed someone." I said under my breath. Now was not the time I wanted to discuss this matter.

"You… killed someone!" Sicilia screeched. "Why?!"

"Hey, do you think I don't regret killing him? To let you know, I do, and, it was an accident." I defended myself because Danielle's mouth had dropped open and Sicilia and Xavier were fuming.

"That's no excuse." Xavier's voice was deep and threatening, a true father.

"You would agree with me if you knew what he had put me and Andrew through." Andrew's name slipped out. My hand immediately slapped over my mouth.

"Who's Andrew?" Sicilia asked.

"No one… the boy's name was Ryan. He beat me behind Ms. Abshire's back and always teased me. It was relentless, and he always made me feel like I was 'a little useless insect'. And…"-I gulped, preparing for their reaction to my next words-"he raped me." I choked out.

"Oh, sweetie!" Sicilia's hands flew over her mouth. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

Danielle whispered in the boy's ear, her lips moving so rapidly I wasn't sure that they were moving at all.

"Mom, I'm okay, I promise, it was nothing." I chuckled at her reaction. It wasn't a big deal. I felt immune to the memories now, and I definitely didn't need anyone to pity me. "Is that why, you killed Ryan, I mean?" Danielle said, relieved that I had a reasonable excuse.

"That's part of it," I stopped laughing. "I have a horrible but somewhat controlled temper, and, well I'd had enough of him and so I just let all of my anger out if one blow… or maybe two, or three…" The tears started coming back. I was going to have to build a tolerance for these things, but I wasn't crying for Ryan. I knew who I was crying for, but I dare not think of the name. Why did everything thing I do remind me of him?

"Rachelle was right all along." Nathan entered the room smugly.

"About what?" Sicilia asked before I could.

"Her past." His head cocked in my direction.

Sicilia and Xavier stared at me, like they were expecting more. How did they know I hadn't told them everything? How did Rachelle know about this?

"Did she already tell you that when she was four, she stuck two packets of ketchup under a toilet seat?" Nathan smiled- I remembered that incident very clearly. Ms. Abshire had gotten the end of it…. Those were happy times; Andrew and I were always doing something mischievous. Of course, that was six years before Ryan had come along.

"Or that her and her best friend used to climb trees in the playground to escape this 'Ryan'?" That was fun also. Ryan was too chubby and slow to climb as well as Andrew and I could.

"Well I was only telling them the non-trivial things. I wasn't telling them about _ketchup_ and _trees_." I snapped, a little bit too defensive.

Nathaniel snickered. "Indeed you weren't, but you still haven't told them everything."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. He'd hit below the belt. Andrew was none of his—none of anyone's concern but my own.

Nathaniel smiled, and stuck out his tongue like two year old.

I stuck out my tongue back at him, but he didn't break through his devious mask.

I was about to say something snobby, but my stomach growled. My cheeks flushed a brilliant red.

"To the kitchen with you- Danielle, David, will you cook something for her? I don't trust Sicilia anymore." Xavier shot a glance at Sicilia, she grinned innocently.

Danielle grabbed my hand and skipped into the kitchen. David followed.

The kitchen was beautiful. There were glass doors with no curtains covered them. It was just the view of the forest and its spooky loom. There was a long oak table with eight chairs and an island bar. The counters were white with marble tops. The fridge was silver and there was an espresso, a microwave, and a trash compactor. The stove was black, and flat. Small circles marked where the pans were supposed to go and an oven below it. Small white cabinets hung above all the counters. There was also a huge white cabinet that stretched from the floor to the top of the other cabinets. That was probably where the food was kept besides the fridge.

I headed over to one of the black and silver barstools. The kitchen was more retro than the other parts of the house, but then I saw a large hearth with a cauldron in it.

"Did you renovate this place?" I asked David.

"Yes, it was in a horrible state. It would have crumbled to the ground in a few years if we hadn't-,"

"But Sicilia and I wanted to keep the fireplace. It gives this place much needed charm." Danielle interrupted. "So, what do you want to eat? I can make anything, unlike _someone_ I know!"

"Be quiet you!" Sicilia called from the entryway.

David chuckled and grabbed Danielle's waist from behind and laid his head on her shoulders.

"Um, what do you have?" I asked, slightly distracted.

"You want steak and potatoes or lobster thermodor? Or do you just want macaroni and cheese? A sandwich? Chicken? Cheese enchiladas…" She rattled on names of different dishes and some plates that she had concocted herself, ones that were unknown to me.

"Danielle, are you going to give her time to make her choice or are you going to keep talking?" David smirked.

"Oh, I was going to, I just wanted to give her a few choices." She verified.

"Yeah, only a few choices." He kissed her cheek.

Danielle started to say her comeback, but I spoke when I had the chance. This was likely to go on forever… the way they argued was just like the way Andrew and I used to talk to each other… "I'll just have macaroni and cheese. I'm not that hungry." I lied. "And water."

"Okay." She said, disappointed, kissed David on the lips, and broke away from him heading towards the cabinet.

"Damn it!" She hissed. "Rachelle!"

"Yes?" Rachelle walked in from the glass doors; I flinched at the threatening edge of her voice.

"You forgot to stock up." She pointed a perfect finger to the cupboard.

"Oops, I guess I forgot." She said in her evil voice.

"Go get it now. I've just reminded you." Danielle spat.

"What if I don't feel like it?"

Danielle was suddenly inches from her face. "Go get it Rachelle." Danielle growled.

"Okay, fine." Rachelle disappeared.

"Wow, Danielle, you're so evil." David chuckled and Danielle joined in.

"Thank you."

I laid my head against the counter and closed my eyes for a few minutes.

"Here's your food, Danielle." Rachelle's voice was high and excited, more or less, ravenous.

Then I smelt the unmistakable smell of blood. My stomach began to churn as I slowly lifted my head to see where it was coming from.

Rachelle's face was covered in blood and she held a headless human body in her hands. I covered my mouth- my eyes bulged. It was a disturbing sight. Blood dripped to the floor from the lifeless corpse. I jumped out of the stool and ran out of the room -screaming- just before Danielle roared in anger. The sound almost busted my eardrums. As I ran into the entryway, Nathaniel was leaning against the west wall with Sicilia and Xavier cornering him.

I ran past them to a door that sat to the left of the chairs, to my luck, it was a bathroom. I slammed the door and leaned over the toilet just incase I was going to puke.

There was a small series of unintelligible snarls that sounded like they were actual words before real one were spoken.

"What the hell is this?!" Xavier yelled. "Why would you do something like this?!"

"Danielle wanted me to go get food!" Rachelle whined.

"You knew what I meant!" Danielle accused.

"Rachelle, I have no desire to murder my own daughter, and she did not need to see such a thing!" Sicilia screeched.

"You all are over-reacting! What's so special about her anyway? Why did you suddenly decide to bring her back?" Rachelle had a great point. I waited for the answer.

"That's none of your business!" Xavier hissed.

Someone knocked on the door, and opened it. Nathaniel poked his head in. I kicked the door, hoping to smash his head in it.

"Nice try." He snickered.

"Ahhh!" I screamed, extremely sick of this place.

"What?" He asked, truly shocked my reaction. I kicked the door again.

"Fine, I'll leave you alone." He snapped, shutting the door quietly.


	16. Death

**Be prepared for the writing of hyperventilating writer. I'm sorry that I'm not very descriptive here, so use your IMAGINATION.**

Suddenly, like thunder, a loud smash shook the ceiling above me. I was in the library with Danielle, enjoying her cache of books she'd collected over the centuries. Many of them were in French, so of course, I could not read them.

Speaking of French, that was what Danielle spoke most of the time. It pissed Nathaniel off, and it annoyed me. David and she would have conversations in which they, as I assumed, made fun of us. Damien would counter with Spanish or Italian; using simple phrases such as "Danielle y David son feos." That translates as "Danielle and David are ugly."

Since that was the most exciting thing that had happened during my first week with the vegetarian vampires, I ran in the direction from which I heard the thump, for some source of entertainment.

I expected to find Xavier and Dominic arguing, but I found something completely different. I'd been sighted at the top of the staircase by an enormous pack of eight werewolves. The largest wolf howled and sprang at me. Swiftly, I ducked and positioned my legs straight above me to push the wolf off, but it had disappeared.

I lied stunned for a few crucial seconds. I had been positive it had been leaping for me.

Then, I was snatched by a colossal set of teeth around the waist. The wolf shook me furiously and I felt flesh tear away from my body. Sharp pain stabbed at my brain, but with experience, I ignored it and grasped the wolf's ears.

Pulling with everything I had, I ripped the wolf's ears from its head. But it only sunk its teeth further into my side, crunching my lower rib cage and pelvis. I cried out in pure agony, and then went limp with the shock of the pain.

I was still conscious and I could see, but I was at a point where a normal human would be dead, and at the point where a vampire body would repair itself. Because of my ability, this process was sped up. But I was helpless if anything was to harm me.

The wolf dropped my half dead corpse on the marble and turn to a new distraction. Rachelle was smiling at my still eyes and cold body. Was she stupid? Did she know I wasn't dead?

Rachelle turned her attention to the wolf. It growled something to her like it was reporting something.

"I know," She seemed like she was pondering something. "you may-," But Rachelle stopped, reconsidering. "No, she might be useful. Keep Amelia alive and put her in D5."

The wolf nodded and enclosed my elbow in his jaws gently. Then he dragged me out, speeding into the dark woods with my body slapping the ground roughly.

I wanted to bite. I had a weird overwhelming urge to bite. I guess it was my vampire instincts that were producing rage toward my natural enemies and Rachelle. She had some kind of deal with the werewolves, and they were taking me somewhere.

Why hadn't anyone but Rachelle come to help me? Why hadn't they come to investigate when they'd heard what had been happening. The wolf sure had howled loud enough.

Then, I was dropped, and a man with long dark brown hair in a ponytail wearing a black leather suit strode up to me with steel handcuffs that looked about six inches thick. I tried to hiss but my body was _still_ paralyzed.

He put my hands behind my back and snapped them shut, then he wrapped a silver brace around my neck.

"If ya' go faster than that of 8 miles per hour, this necklace will cut your head off, bat dung." He looked at me with disgust as my strength returned. The cuffs were heavy, even for me, but the necklace felt warm against my arctic skin.

I slowly got up and followed the strange man at his human pace.

"Did you know you killed my brother a few days ago?" He asked quietly.

"Sorry." I said dryly.

"You did know?"

"No."

There was silence. His scent disgusted me. It burned my nosed and caused my teeth to clench. I knew he wasn't human because of this.

And, he had no ears.

"Want me to give you your ears back?" It wasn't meant to be a friendly gesture; I was just about to throw up looking at the holes in his head.

"Why and how would you do that?" He stared forward.

"You have ugly holes in your head, I can heal anything I want, and it must be miserable."

He stopped and stared at me. "Since when did a vampire care about such a thing?"

That stung. I'd been trying to act like a vampire lately, now I had pity for a dog. I was a disgrace.

"Since never." I mumbled, still walking.

"Can you really though?"

"Yes."

"Will you?"

"No."

"Why not? You offered."

"Shut up!" I growled.

He was silent as a small, steel 5 foot tall structure appeared.

"In there." He pushed me in, slid the barred door close, and the room moved. It crawled slowly into the ground. Soon, his face disappeared. I was consumed in complete darkness.

It got colder and colder until the walls began to freeze.

A few minutes later, another man grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me into hell. We passed huge meter thick doors that echoed the cries of vampires. They screeched and pounded against the doors but were still trapped. Some of the doors were frozen shut, and they were in stacks to about ten stories above me.

Werewolves in human form looked at my frightened expression and chuckled. They carried large guns in their hands and wore nothing but jeans and shredded tennis shoes.

One man laughed and showed me bullet that glowed teal. The bullet wasn't just any bullet, according to him, it was a bullet that was specifically engineered to kill vampires.

At the end of the stretch of cells, the man let go of me and typed a password into a keyboard on the wall. Then, the largest cell I'd seen opened. (It had bars instead of a solid steel wall.) The man pushed me in roughly, and then shut me into my prison.

I sat down on the slippery ice that covered the floor, my hands still in cuffs, and the head chopping necklace still around my neck.

I could easily break out of the cell, but since I couldn't run, I'd be caught and simply put into another cell.

My mind ran through different escape possibilities and situations of the future. Was I a prisoner that was to be held until I'd fulfilled a purpose? And once I'd fulfilled that purpose, would I be murdered?

What if Rachelle was in control of the werewolves here? What if she was going to torture me? What if I spent the rest of my immortal existence in this place? What if…

That was enough of those "What ifs." My tendency to worry was getting me nowhere. I should focus on the present situation.

But there was nothing I could do. There was nothing _to_ do. All I could do was wait until endless minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days.

My decision was to lie back, and close my eyes. I thought about nothing. I simply pictured a black space in my head.

I was so focused on thinking about not thinking that I did not notice who was put into my cell until that person kicked me and whispered, "Amelia, stupid, get up."

I opened one eye to see that it was Danielle. She had cuffs and a silver necklace on too. "What?"

"Get up!" She hissed urgently, her tone scaring me. She kicked me harder.

"'Kay…" I said under my breath, trying to invent a way to get up without hands and with out moving faster than eight miles per hour.

"David is dead!" She screeched, dry sobbing into my shoulder.

David, Danielle's husband, of whom I'd only just met had died, or was ceasing to exist. I wasn't sad, I couldn't be- I hadn't known him. It was just my nature.

"I'm sorry," I tried to sound empathetic, and in a way, I guess I was. I'd lost my husband too, but my relationship with Timothy was still confusing and blurred.

"What are we going to do?" Danielle was truly defeated. She usually had a willful personality, and she was never emotional. She was even more demanding than Xavier in her needs. She controlled everyone, but now, she had been broken down. Danielle was vulnerable. David's death had shaken her to the bones. I should say something more than sorry, but I couldn't find the words. So I said all that I could.

"I don't know." Those were words that implied that you were as clueless as the asker, or that you didn't wish to answer.

"Hey! Bloodsuckers! Keep it down!" A man banged on the cell door with his gun. I growled and spat a liquid ball of venom in his face.

"Yee-uuck…" He wiped it off his face and flinched at the smell.

"Call us that again and that gun will be inside your throat!" I warned.

"Amelia, is that you?" A weak voice called. I heard slow footsteps coming towards the cell, but the voice had sounded from somewhere different. Then, I saw a small figure across the room.

It was Aro. He was sitting in a cell with multiple chains stringing from him to the wall. His skin was frailer than ever, and he looked on the verge of death- he looked like a zombie.

"Yes, it's me." I called, but then the cell door was opened and Damien was pushed in. He slumped in with blood covering his body; most of it coming from his head and leg. He collapsed on the floor with heavy breathing.

I gasped. What was with him and all the blood? Vampires didn't bleed. Had he fed recently? That was his excuse when he'd bled at the Volturi dinner party. But I had fed, two days before in fact, and I hadn't bled one bit.

The other strange thing was that it [his blood didn't smell at all. I didn't have to urge to drink it.

"Idiot! How could you?" Danielle lifted her head screamed at Damien. "You betrayed us all! I hope you die! Suffer! There couldn't be a better fate for you, TRAITOR!"

Damien rolled over on his back, his eyes almost rolling into his head. "I… didn't… know…" He coughed up more blood. Why wasn't I healing him?

"Oh, of course you didn't! You didn't know about Rachelle's secret pets! You didn't know about The Covenant! You didn't know David was being murdered! You didn't know that she used you! You didn't think to save him! You… didn't…" Danielle was fuming with rage. "ASSHOLE!" She stomped on his stomach. The force split him in half and cracked the ice.

I shrieked at Damien's two pieced body. Now I realized he couldn't heal himself. I bent down quickly, put my hands on his rib cage and waited. Nothing happened, and the werewolves that had gathered outside the cell to watch the drama chuckled.

Why weren't my powers working? Damien was dying right in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it!

Beginning to panic wildly, I started to claw at my restraints. I grabbed at the necklace, fighting with all the strength I could conjure. But it was useless. The necklace had embedded itself into my throat.

The next thing I thought of was the cuffs. I tried pulling them apart or banging them against the ice and bars, but all that happened was an ear piercing grind.

I turned my anger towards the wolves and Danielle, who were now my enemies. Rage was all that filled me, except for a small amount of sorrow.

My scream echoed throughout the whole underground structure, making the wolves cringe.

"Hey, quiet it down! He's not going to die!" One of them yelled. But he didn't seem to understand. I had just discovered a huge weakness of Damien's—he couldn't heal himself at all, and he could bleed.

Damien's lifeless body lying on the floor finally quieted me to dry sobbing.

The werewolves started to murmur.

"Crud, was he her mate?"

"Why did he die?"

"Why was he bleeding?"

"No, that was Rachelle's-,"

They started to part and the man with the long dark brown hair came through.

I stared up at him with a devastated expression. "Please, take these cuffs off; just let me heal him!" I pleaded on my knees.

The man stared down at me. "Now, we're even." He walked away silently.

That was right. I'd killed his brother, now he'd killed Damien.

I whined and collapsed next to Damien's corpse.

Danielle cowered in a corner watching me.

It was all over. Damien was gone. Timothy was gone. I had nothing left to live for.

I stood up, and ran. I felt it.

It hadn't been two seconds before my head was detached and, surprisingly, my hands cut off.

My body dropped to the floor as there was nothing, only a black, cold abyss.


	17. Author's Note

Well, that is the end of No Hope-- although, I'm not quite finished with all the characters. (I'm totally all for the evil characters getting their happy endings.) And, I'll just have to say that Amelia hasn't left without damage.


End file.
